The Fall and Rise
by Saphire Basil
Summary: "You should know, Zeus," Pariah said slowly. "Viruses are beyond life and death." Alex squinted at the six year old's words. "What are you saying?" Pariah smiled. A smile that would have mistaken as sweet when seen on a boy's face, but this creature was no boy. "Sentience is a tool for survival to the virus but like all tools, it can be discarded." -P2, AU. - Hiatus, see profile.
1. For Her

******Note, chapter one to chapter six remains un-beta. So if you're going to read, you have to swallow down my awful errors. Urk, you also have to swallow my paragraphs... I really need to fix the format of my writing.**

******The beta version is coming, just need to clear up some stuffs in it with the editor.**

* * *

**For Her. **

* * *

_I am the virus._

For once, he felt the weight of the world heavy on his shoulder. It was like all the effort, the energy spent had finally caught onto him. Eighteen days of never-ending objectives, of running around, searching, always escaping, fighting through the infected and pummeling over any obstacle that barred him. He was hunting for answers and non-stopping he was. He got what he wanted but he didn't like it.

The man crinkled his nose at the thought of it as he walks slowly on the deserted path. Glancing across the miles of water, Manhattan glow a foreboding red color. His work is almost done. The infected headless and Blackwatch, a shadowy military of black operations, leaderless. A breath escaped beneath the brown hood. It obscured his face into dark shadows, hiding the sick-like paleness of his feature and the gaunt circles of his eyes. Though those eyes of his remained steely hard, inhumanly cold, and had a hunter's depth in them but there was a flicker of remorse running through it as he thought about the events that happened to him.

He felt tired, he felt light-headed, heck he felt like his body was unhealthily thin even when his form showed only a fit-looking man, a haggard fit-looking man. But that should be expected after all, he only just had a raven to recover from a nuclear explosion. Not only that, he fought the Supreme Hunter before. A monster existed to only hunt, kill, and consume him. And it was designed to combat the Blacklight virus in every way. It was the Specialist, he snorted at that thought, remembering one particular Blackwatch officer.

He lost a lot of his biomass in fighting that creature. It left him with measly amount and by right, when the nuclear explosion hit him, he should have disintegrated. He should have stayed dead. Yet here he was and he felt drained, not victorious. He felt wonder, not at the chances of him still alive, but at what the future would hold for him. But one thing that felt so heavy and was contributing to the weight he carried was remorse.

As he gazed at the city he could hear the sound of thousands screaming… in his head. All he consumed, all that he hunted. Some were just bystanders who were simply getting away, some fought against him, some deserved to get what they shouldn't have challenged, but all, all shared one common thing. Terror and for that he was a terrorist. All thought he was a monster, and monster he is. Killer, they deemed, and a killer too he is. That was fine because that's what he _is_. That's what he's made for. That's what a virus _is_. That's what he does.

Frankly, he's a sentient virus, an embodiment of a living plaque. What he is isn't made of muscles, tissues or organs. He was just a lump of flesh, biomass that was shaped to look human, because it was a human he first consumed. It was a man's genetic he first recorded into him. Blacklight is a retrovirus designed to rewrite the DNA structure, excessively 'til there was nothing left of what's before. He was something less human, well actually he's not human at all. He may _have_ helix-structured DNA, genes and cells, not particularly a homo sapiens', but that's when the similarity ends. He was just wearing the clothes, the shape, a structure of one but inside, physically, was a whole new different thing. For that, he was something more than just human. His name is Alex Mercer, and his work is almost done.

* * *

Alex walked into the street infested with screaming citizens and the swarming numbers of infected. Blur of colors as the infected chase after their victims. Brief pressures from pedestrians rushing past him could be felt when they blindly brushed by. All of them though, ignored the still form watching them with silvery blue eyes. He frowned deeply, probably disapprovingly and sometime in wondering at the living citizens still here, in the infected zone. No sane mind should be here, and they should have evacuated from the area. They had more than two weeks to do it and yet there are still idiots who think they can waltz around without bearing consequences.

A heavy whack slapped the back of his jacket, breaking the chains of his thoughts. He crinkled his brow. His senses indicating it was an infected, a stupid daring one. It smacked him again and he gritted his teeth with a deep growl escaping from his throat. Can't someone just stand here on the street for a few second? Oh wait, this was the infected zone, of course not. With that in mind and his sight warning others noticing him, Alex immediately snapped his hand around where his attacker throat is, easily lifting it up like it was feather without even turning to look at it. It was time to recover some of his biomass.

He smiled as his inner hunter sighed happily at being release. What happens next was a slaughter house of gory galore. If one watched him from the distant, they would've seen a man whose icy silvery eyes crinkling in amusement, perhaps the twinge of a smirk twitching the corner of his lip. A living figment of insane imagination was the appropriate description. He was mowing down the numbers of mindless zombies with ease, punching holes into his victims, kicking them through their head, even sliding across spattered red mush that once was a whole body he'd simply dived on… using the heels of his shoes. What was even worse was for every fatal wound he strikes, black tendrils came seeking out of him and stabbing into the openings. From there his victim's body would just crumble into black-red swirl that he simply absorbed, the tendrils reeling it all in.

It made him look like a monster of swirling black tendrils, ever shifting as flesh and blood covered him. Any sane mind around him knew not to go near this tentacle-swirling eldritch monster, especially when this monster was the terrorist that news and media had warned. Once he felt the comfortable weight of dense biomass packed in him, he simply jumped from the crowds of the infection, fifty foot high and towards the buildings at the side. He launched against the vertical wall and simply sprinted up easefully with gravity-defying manner. Reaching the top, he jumped over the edge and with agile precisions, he landed a short meter in with a heavy thump on the concrete floor.

The exhilaration of the hunt, the euphoric release of having the virus ripping through his victim as he consumed, and the adrenaline of the excitement rushed through him. He was a hunter that hunts not for hunger, but for the sake of the hunt. In fact he doesn't hunger, but he does have the _urge_ to _consume_, because consuming was _infecting_ and a virus nature is to infect, so it was natural to have this instinctive desire. What's close to real hunger is the urgent need to replenish his mass _instantly_. He could have let his metabolism kicked in since he still had a huge amount of genetic materials that would last more than a life time, but why do that when there are easy to grab snacks? Not like he could taste his snack, which was why Alex preferred the infected. No memories, no sentient feelings to taste. Alex stood there, enjoying the feeling before the serious matter of the infected came to his thought.

His work needed to be done. He needs to rid the city of the infected. He can't risk having the Redlight virus evolving a random citizen into a host leader. There was a chance that it might. He already rid Elizabeth Greene, aka MOTHER, and he was not going to take chance of letting Redlight wrecking his weeks of work of tearing down the infected. Turning his back from the centre of the infected zone, he launched over the buildings, jumping across street-wide gaps with blurring speed. He was heading towards the centre of Manhattan where it would be easy to contact all the infected through the hive-mind.

It was necessary, he told himself as much as he hated to connect to the hive-mind. It was what made him an enigma. He _is_ Blacklight, a strain of Redlight that was artificially altered through genetic engineering. It's what made him a perfect artificial release of non-coding regions of all the genetic materials he took. But the fact that he's a variant of Redlight, that he literally has, what the hu—people would refer, blood-relation to, _should_ have made him at home with the hive-mind… because of his nature, because of what he is. But it repulses him. His mind simply cringed from the contact, like how he would cringe when having the onslaught of memories of his victim invading his mind.

The reason was simple. Alex sees Redlight as abomination, a mindless beast that has no purpose in existing. He was simply disgusted. Maybe it was the Blacklight's predator-instinct, the urge to dominate, to stay as the superior nature and top of the food chain, and that having Redlight existence was a contradiction to this. Maybe he was simply possessive over the city, his predator-like instinct seeing it as his territory. Or maybe it was mainly the thought of his comatose sister, weak and helpless; defenseless against the infected. He squinted darkly at that thought, to hell they would. Maybe it was all of these reasons and he was acting on it.

He wasn't really a deep thinker. What do they call it, a philosopher? He can be a strategist, make plans within plans, he thinks—improvise when backed into corner, but a philosopher? Well his existence would put a lot of theorist into headache, and that would mean he would put himself into headache. So he didn't bother or never thought about it. Just plan, think, do, and not ponder. His action was not to make him be a savior for the city, but to amend his mistake… and his predecessor's mistake. Both predecessors, Alex Mercer, the first identity he assumed, the dead scientist whose mindset he took after death made it a clean slate, and for Elizabeth Greene.

She was his predecessor due to Blacklight being a strain of the mother virus. She was Redlight first sentient host he had susceptibly released when he was foolish and naïve, when he was just days old. Young, his thought whispered. He wanted to reverse the work done by her and the work done by Doctor Alexander J Mercer, simply because there are some things he hates more than others. But hate wasn't the only thing that drives him. One could say he had a deep sense of responsibility. After all he believed humankind was just a pack of idiots. Blackwatch had proved that, Gentek, a group of the world's smartest minds had proved that, New Yorkers had proved that, the fucking media had proved that with every headline.

He was surrounded by idiots and with the fact kept rubbing in, especially when he has memories to remind this every time, he knew mankind is stagnant. He's existence proved that humanity was _now_ more unfit than him. So if it's not them that are going to cleanup, it has to be him and he would do a whole lot of better job than the twats hanging around beneath his feet. Someone has to do it, if not them, it has to be me, as the saying go. All of this was simply because he can, because he was proving himself to be _more_ than just a virus, more than what Elizabeth Greene was, but proving so would mean he's less than that monster Alex J Mercer, less than human. Only a monster could hold the power to genocide, even if it's _the_ _infected_. Alex let a huff escaped from his mouth, how ironic. That was what the purpose of Hope, Idaho was for; an experimentation field for a weapon to target specific racial type, to bring genocide from just a push of a button.

The trip to Time Square was oddly, uneventful but that's fine. The sky was helicopter free, the marines more focused in helping survivors, Blackwatch personnel are nowhere to be found. No one didn't bother look at the black streak blurring at the tops of looming building. It was quicker that way. The ravage left from the battle with Greene can be seen clearly even in the distant. The huge cracks, the hole in the road as if shells had struck there, pile of rubbles from destroyed buildings at the side, the cheese holes in the remnant of building still standing, and it goes on in all direction. It would cost billions to fix this place, a big chunk in the government's pocket.

That's fine. Alex didn't like the government anyway since they let military operations like Blackwatch exists. If they're soured, annoyed at the huge number in their bills, he took satisfaction. He may not be able to make the government pay directly, but at least they're suffering from the consequence. That's good enough for him and the government are just a load of politicians who says pretty words but doesn't lift a finger, so why should he. Besides, some ambitious intelligent personnel probably did the decision-making.

He leaped from the Paramount building, his favorite spot at beating the shit out of his victims. It has a nice number of terraces, and those terraces are used as a never-ending platform to bounce his victims against. Fun times. Particularly for the infected or the super soldier that dared to disturb him while he was _doing something useful_, like killing a pack of Hunters. He went towards the tallest building, Times Square and simply sprints up its side, his feet cracking the glass as he left imprint on the cracked surface. Reaching the top, he stopped and scanned around for clearance before closing his eyes.

Alex ignored the screams of the damned inside him, passing memories that weren't his though their experiences had imprinted in him. These are his internal hive-mind and frankly getting squeezed by both internal and external from these two presences, should have broken a normal mind. But he didn't have a normal mind to begin with. His mindset came from a psychotic asshole scientist. A very ruthless, cold-like thinker with intelligence and was prone towards dark thoughts. Added to the fact his subconscious revolved around his viral nature… his mind wasn't truly humane and it was probably why he didn't break.

Alex went toward the viral part of his mind, feeling the tug of his nature pulling him to the external link of the hive-mind. The onslaught mind of the infected washed through him, and he gritted his teeth at their insistent tugging. They were like children. Children with disturbing mind to please their parent. He mentally snarled, his dominance travelling through the hive-mind. The infected finally realizing who they were blindly groping on, wail in despair. In the viral hierarchy, he stood at the top of their minds but unlike the presence of MOTHER who only gave off a euphoric mental aura that made them belong, _he_ only gave off the aura of promised destruction on their kind. To them, the role of the sentient Blacklight virus was an _apex_ with an aura of not a Leader, but of a Hunter. It meant he was a hunter of hunters, a hunter that hunts _them_. Some snarled at him but out of their protective instinct, defense to stop fear from instilling them.

Ignoring their never-ending wailings, he simply took his mind deeper to the viral hive-mind. Once reaching the designated area of the hive-mind, he stopped his probing. It felt _right_, this was what he was seeking and he could almost mentally feel _all_ the links to the Redlight virus. He couldn't quite describe what he was exactly feeling since there wasn't really _left_ or _right_, or clear meaning on that matter, just tugging sensations that have no words to justify them. But he knew, he was in the core of control. This was where Elizabeth Greene mind or what's left of it usually found, a venerated part of the hive-mind.

He could feel traces of her, the lingering of her ghost-like whispers of _the reason_—whatever it was. But ghost was what she is now. Though he'd consumed her, Elizabeth Greene isn't an active mind in the web of intrigue. While others whisper, almost alive and seem to _watch_ and _feel_ his presence there in their memories, hers was the only one that left only ghostly whispers. Not much of her memories or thoughts made sense anyway. Her mind had long ago faded, fried from the virus presence and what's left was only an incomplete artificial intelligent that's programmed to follow the virus nature. Ignoring his repulsion induced from the leftover traces, he pulled the links that bind them all and send out the command to the Redlight virus within the infected bodies. Consume. Immediately he felt, he sensed the chain reaction.

He could feel the Redlight virus suddenly attacking their host, consuming the altered cells and replicating more viruses, weaker versions, less potent on each replication. He felt the race, as if the rush of the virus was burning in him. Most importantly, he could feel the virus self-destruct as other virus had altered cells to release a chemical reaction. It burned the now weakened virus from the system, with the sacrificial cells having to be destroyed in the end of course.

_'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!'_

Alex collapsed as the scream filled his head. A female, woman, familiar presence screamed in pain through the hive-mind, a scream that hit him in the gut when recognition dawned on him. The last time he remembered that voice, it was pleading for him to save as he helplessly chased after her.

Alex eyes snapped open. Dana! Immediately Alex halted his spurring to a stop. _She's with us now_, Greene's voice whispered into his thought. No, no, no, no! He shook his head in denial and bristled violently in rage, anger, shock, fear. No, Dana's not infected, he thought stubbornly that he had unconsciously grounded his hands into a tight fist. A pit full of worm gnawed his insides. His sister was all he could think about and with that he immediately launched himself to the hospital where she safely resided.

* * *

Instead of just barging straight to his destination, Alex took his time. He couldn't just walk in looking all flustered, plus Ragland made him promise and the whole situation might be a tad blown out of proportion. So he took his time to calm down, he needed to.

He shape shifted his clothes and a bit of his feature. He didn't fully want to shape shift—assuming another's identity. Shape shifting to him was like masks he can easily wore and take off in seconds. Assuming identities were like picking suits out of a selection but like suits, they needed to get use to and it was the feeling of a different body shape; the weight of flesh aligned differently that made him uncomfortable, so he tried to shift _partly_ instead wholly.

He changed his _skin_, appearance, instead of his body shape by immediately ridding his hood and black leather jacket. Though he was reluctant as they hid and guarded most of his form with their bulky presence, they were still a dead giveaway. Technically, what he wore is a bright cocky signature that screams, THIS IS ZEUS! Most New Yorkers were afraid to even wear hoods or bulky black leather jacket since they were scared to be mistaken as him. Plus _normal_ people don't give an impression that they were drug dealers or hoodlums from bad neighborhood, or anything that gives a vibe of suspicion.

So he stick to turning his hair longer and blonde, eyes into softer shade of green and force himself to wear a shabby woolen vest over a white dress shirt. The jeans and shoes he decided not to change since he can't be bothered. Oh, he also made himself younger in appearance and even managed to produce glasses. Of course, Alex had to absorb and breakdown glass and metal compounds to replace what the nuclear explosion had burn off. Still… he looked like a bloody college student that has no association with the meaning suspicious. He snorted in disdain when he glanced at his reflection from some shop's window.

He strolled across the street, passing idling militia and pedestrian taking their slow… walk. He had to fight against the screaming urge to shove and bursting into sprint against their slow movements. He hated the feeling of…people constantly brushing past him, the feeling of being compact amongst them. It felt like being surrounded by… cows, a butcher's memory slid in… waiting to be slaughtered, this time it was a psychotic killer's thought… by him. The living sentient virus frowned. He was all into adaptability. It's part of nature. To survive is to adapt, and if he can't adapt into a situation that's far easier than building up resistant to BloodTox, well life's going to be unnecessary difficult.

Going up the familiar concrete stairs, he strode into the dark hallways of the hospital. He ignored the reception area and went straight toward the familiar path to the morgue, a path where not many people go to and which he was thankful for. Having to deal people, the narrow corridors that are unlike the open streets… and the fucking low ceiling, whilst keeping his shape from bristling in agitation, he was practically eye twitching. Many who came upon him immediately put him into the category of having one hell of a bad day, so they tried to keep their distance.

Pushing past the double door, he entered a cold room, his shoes tapping on the square tiles.

"Ragland." His deep hoarse stern voice called out as he searched the room for the doctor. "Ragland!" he called out louder.

If the doctor doesn't come out now, Alex was going to ransack through the hospital promise or not. Ragland may have squeezed him into promising not to enter the hospital in his undisguised mode and had also urged him to stop harassing patients. Alex had briskly replied an explanation to that. The patients he was interested in were ones that had the strain of Redlight growing in them. And the thought of an infected being close to Dana… well Ragland had to kick out a number of citizens and informed staffs about doing blood test before accepting patients. But when it comes to visiting time, Alex usually tossed that promise out the window once Dana was within vicinity.

He didn't want his sister to wake up to see a stranger's face instead of his, and he didn't want any of the infected existing in the same building as she is. In fact the thought of her waking up to a stranger's face or encountering one of the freshly turned infected made him adamant despite Ragland's reminder. He didn't want anything to worsen Dana's upset state of mind. No doubt she would be, or anyone for that matter after being hauled into an arm of a pinky slimy monster deemed as Hunter, plus going through an unpleasant ride across the city with it.

Alex had once thought the cause of her comatose state was due to her brain being damaged from bruising caused by impacts. After all, landing from a hundred feet and a yard long jump can be pretty jarring. The jolts and tremors travelling through the body would surely bruise or damage a normal person, not to mention the Hunter's clutch must have had fractured some bones… perhaps the spine. Thankfully, when he found her, she didn't show sign of being damaged by the ordeal. In fact, not one bruise nor broken bones nor even any traces of the ordeal had marked her. It was just her mental state of her mind that made him worried, and perhaps the status of her body's functions.

"RAGLAND!" he bellowed, getting impatient. He knew the doctor was somewhere here. He could smell the fresh imprints of the doctor's body odor.

"Alex?" A voice came from the back.

_You bet your ass it is_, but he didn't speak that thought out loud, merely scowled in answer. Though he may wear another's face, his scowl was pretty much a dead giveaway. It made him… well him from the way his brows crinkled, to how his eyes just simply glare in the same imposing manner and how his lips thin. Alex dropped his disdain off with a crinkle of his nose, but the furrow on his brow line remained. Ragland was used to that look and wasn't even a bit bothered by it when he walked back into the room, having clamped the body storage's door shut.

The aged dark-skin doctor was too _unafraid_ of him, but Ragland had said no to Blackwatch and Gentek without breaking a sweat, so Alex could respect that trait of him instead of killing him. After all, why should the doctor break his calm demeanor simply because a living sentient virus had decided to pop in for a surprise doctor visit? Ragland's life must have been pretty much a roller coaster ride that simply made the doctor hardly bothered to respond in a normal manner, quaking in fear for example, or maybe Ragland had experienced too much that it made him equipped to deal those petty thing life sometime throw. He thought of the latter after all, he's not exactly quaking in his shoes for every time Blackwatch managed to pull a new card on him.

"Results?" Alex questioned.

"Ah," the doctor simply said. He slipped his rubber gloves off before striding toward the corner of the room meant for only his access. It wasn't really the secure type of area as it only has the standard issue of hospital curtain to hide that corner of his. But hardly any comes to the morgue, especially _this_ morgue reserved only for him to do his research on whatever he was researching on. Now that the thought came up, Alex wondered. What was the doctor researching?

He knew that this doctor had… ethics. Why else would he refuse the offer to work for Blackwatch, but morality? Well if Ragland showed any sign of having morality, he didn't show it when he helped him even after discovering who Alex was, or even what Alex is and did on a daily basis. It was what made Alex suspicious about the doctor, but curious enough to let him live. If he was important for McMullen, once the head researcher of Gentek, to ask for help, then Ragland was pretty high in the list of potential geneticist daring to play god, and not much of those ended up… pleasant, or without releasing a devastating consequence on the world. Actually, Ragland was the only one in the list since the others are dead, but the man _might_ be treading along the lines. Alex allowed the doctor to give him the benefit of doubt.

"Here's the recent reading on her blood test. The last one was completed just a few hours ago," Ragland had tapped the insides of the yellow crisp file.

Alex opened it, rifling first the bottom reports. If he were paying attention, he would've felt the tendrils of his biomass inside him tightening. Each chart he flicked past, each reading he scanned showed only signs of a healthy clean body with no indication of the virus and its symptoms. Clean. Clean. Clean. He flipped through the page with ease, reading with help from dozens of accumulated experience of top scientists within him. Alex stopped when he reached the last page, his eyes on the sentence: _patient shown one of the symptoms of virus early at 8:07_… morning, morning, the time he tried to rid the infected through taking the reins in the hive-mind.

_Patient has stabilized within short second without medical help from the staff. Recent readings show a number of Redlight virus idling in her blood stream and was shortly active before shutting down._ Alex scanned the charts and the clips of photos. There a model of Redlight virus was just sitting there, surrounded by blood cells. Chart reading was showing the recent burst of exponential growth, then a straight dead line._ The virus have been dormant, hence the lack of symptoms but the numbers of virus contradicts its dormant status._ The summary ended. His eyes looked up on the doctor and for once Ragland looked unease. Not at Alex, but at the situation they were in.

"I have a hypothesis about this, Alex," Ragland broke the silence plus Alex's glaring was starting to make him uncomfortable.

"Please tell, doctor." Alex's voice was curt and had a hint of a snarl hiding beneath it.

"You've told me about PARIAH—"

"What's this got to do with Greene's child?" Alex bristled at the codename.

"Please, Alex," Ragland spoke calmly, "let me continue."

Alex just flicked his eyes at the doctor as a sign before he turned to move. Ragland eyed the young man, striding smoothly across the room before swiveling around, pacing on his side of the room. Having Alex nearby was like having a black disgruntled jaguar searching for exit. Ragland let a purse escaped his mouth.

"As you've told me," he said calmly, "reports on PARIAH shown the subject having no sign of the virus having activated the non-coding regions, or having symptoms similar to… Blacklight virus producing an artificial release for those regions."

"Yes, PARIAH shown no sign of having a virus with similar capability as mine…," Alex drawled, recalling the theories behind his powers. Blacklight unlocks his abilities through genetic manipulation, activating the non-coding regions in the genetic materials he collects, just as Ragland had said. By short, as long he has the codes, he gets access, so Alex can basically evolved and discover more powers, "…or being the weapon Blackwatch dreamed him to be," the icy-blue eyes squinted at this fact.

"That's the thing, Alex. The reports told that he had shown no physical symptoms, but the theory revolving around that boy contradicts that."

Alex stopped in his pacing. McMullen thought PARIAH being the perfect _natural_ release of the things buried in the genome. Basically, it meant all the known and unknown capability of what _he_ discovered and _hasn't_ is already activated within the boy. Yet the boy showed no sign of being a super weapon… instead the boy is an enigma, an unusual case. If Alex was sure, he thought that the boy might be refusing to show what he's capable of. Or perhaps even hiding, maybe refusing to comply at becoming what they hoped for. He would be if he'd been stuck in a lab for thirty-four years and knew that he was just some kind of sick experiment to scientists. But PARIAH have been living with scientists and Blackwatch since the beginning of his birth, so he wasn't sure if the boy would think the same as him.

"What are you trying to get Ragland?" he said slowly, curious to how this ties to his sister. Plus he can be patient, right? This better lead to somewhere, his forethought growled while his subconscious was swirling around the facts brought up to light.

"What if, and I remind you, Alex, this is just a _what if_ scenario," Ragland said in a reasonable calm tone, "PARIAH has conscious control on the virus since we can assume that's how he hid his… capabilities." the doctor turned from the impassive sentient virus and pointed at the Redlight virus diagram. Glancing over his shoulder only to see the glare, the doctor continued. "That he can somehow control the virus movements directly, perhaps can order them into a dormant state."

"Are you saying PARIAH is now controlling the Redlight virus, that he took his mother's mantle?" Alex tasted the quoted words coming out from his victim's memories. His blue eyes flashed at the meaning of this. That's not good. That's not good at all.

"No, I'm saying Greene might have the same capability to a certain extent. Her last act was to put the virus within her and that the virus did not react as expected. It became dormant under a control of another," Ragland explained.

Alex frowned, "Pariah could deactivate the virus from being active?" he said this slowly. He wondered, does distant affect the established links to the hive-mind.

"Would you prefer it to be Greene then?" Ragland spoke this thought out loud.

Alex bristled, having long dropped his disguise. If it was Greene, Dana was probably a material for Greene to evolve her. Perhaps the virus was smart, perhaps it has known that Blacklight was the superior strain and will defeat it. So when the chance came, it would want to worm its way into something that Alex would've never harm, something Alex would protect to the teeth. Ragland didn't spoke that thought out, nor did he want to think the possibility of Redlight being _that_ intelligent.

"We could think of the third possibility," Ragland said slowly.

Blue eyes looked up.

"Defeating Greene, the virus would then need another main host. A new… leader, queen bee, or mother," Ragland said slowly, knowing he was treading on a mighty fine line. "Perhaps Dana was… chosen to become one."

Streaks of black tendrils flickered across Alex's form. _Better get this over quick_, Ragland's subconscious urged.

"If that's the case, Dana now controls the virus." The doctor said quickly. "And that her comatose state was a way for the virus and her thoughts to fuse—," Alex opened his mouth to argue with that. To have a link to a hive-mind was to have the genes that's in charge of that, and that would mean the virus had to infect and basically rewrite her DNA to include that gene, and that was death. That's what happened to Greene. Her memories and the traces of what's left of her mind told him this. But to begin this chain reaction, Greene had to past her mantle. "—it would mean her subconscious might have deactivated the virus from infecting her," Ragland continued.

Alex thought about it. _She's with us now._ Dana's immaculate body, unharmed, hardly bruised, formed into his mind. Not a single broken bone he found on her. It would explain. It would explain.

"Are you saying Dana has evolved to step up on the mother pedestal, that she was already infected to begin with, that she has already evolved to control the virus at the same time have abilities to hide the fact that she's _one of them_," he said this slowly but the air around him seems to thicken. "A new version of mother!"

She's dead. She's dead. She's dead.

"Wait, Alex!" Ragland called out, seeing that look on the young man. "Her DNA is unaltered."

Alex stopped, realizing he had been striding toward the exit. If Ragland hadn't said that… Alex didn't want to imagine what he would have done to his sister's body.

"Remember the virus is dormant to begin with. It was put in her but it did _not_ infect. She _might_ have the _potential_ to be the new version of mother, but she's not because she hasn't been infected. She might have been attacked by the virus for a short while but it was only for replicating, not rewriting the DNA." Ragland said all of this slowly and clearly. "Whether or not the fact that her comatose state is due to the virus trying to establish connection to the hive-mind is unknown, or whether the virus is dormant due to some command," the doctor just shook his head at this, as if get the thoughts out, "I'm only listing theories of what, why, and could happen to her."

Alex let the words sink in.

"But unfortunately, all the facts are pointing to one thing. She has potential, and if the infected sense that, perhaps the links to her mind—"

"They would come after her," Alex hissed at this.

The thought of the hive-mind establishing links to her brain… well Alex is not going to take the risk. Potential or no potential, he was going to cut of any way the infected could get to her. If that's the case, it's probably time to move out. Perhaps to test if distant effect the connection to the hive-mind. He knows how aggravating it is to have the infected voice clawing the back of his mind. He already had to deal with his own internal hive-mind, but to handle the external ones also? It was another reason why he repulsed from it. Reminded him too much of the collections of damned minds. Alex might take this getaway as a potential holiday from the extra voices. Let the military deal with the infected. It was the government fault to begin with. Sure he _may_ have released Elizabeth Greene, but by the time he found her, she was ready to escape.

* * *

He eyed the UH-1 Y Venom. A utility helicopter the marines have. Not like the Apache that's more fit for combat and had extra _heavy_ guns in its arsenal. But the important part is that it's a _utility_ helicopter, his annoying thought rubbed in, or maybe it was one of the dead marines inside his head. This is what Alex was looking for. It has the same basic strength of Apache, can withstand the 23mm ballistics round but in sacrifice for the weights of heavy missiles, it was to carry teams and have space for MEDEVAC. Meaning Dana could be carried into that with bed, equipments and all. It still has pretty impressive machine guns, his thoughts whispered, but standard issued one, he retorted to that thought. It's basically an Apache without the heavy missiles… without the potential of instant explosion. Alex scowled from the top of the building.

Now to get a Blackwatch personnel. Even though they were issued to fall back due to a black hole in their upper ranks, Alex was still sure they still had the authority figure card. So if he waltzed in as a marine captain, an annoying Blackwatch low ranked officer could still boss him around. Alex scowled again. There was a mighty flaw in the plan. Manhattan is a quarantined island. Once something goes in, nothing goes out. All these marines were the same ones since the beginning of the outbreak. They don't even transport hospital patients out of the island unless… one of them was materials for research. Since Gentek, the research company based on this island was trashed. It would mean the military had to go to another medical company that's in the government's list. That means any research material needed to study has to go _outside_ the island. This is where Ragland comes in.

The man work one of the medical companies that rivaled Gentek. It was a smaller company, younger too but it got the government to get them in their pocket. They were, as Ragland had said, the spotlight that tries to shine but in doing so they shaded the darker companies to be overlooked. An _upstart_ that still filled with dreams and ideal, the doctor words echoed in his thoughts. But still, more reason to distrust that doctor, Alex scowled as he remembered the chat Ragland had with him, assuming having one of the two candidates only talking that is.

_"You should know Alex, big companies and governments of any type always have corruption in it. Wherever you go, you will always find them. It's part of human nature. We're greedy, we're selfish and that's why things like corruption exist on a daily basis." Ragland spoke as he packed his equipments.  
"Still, like you, Alex, we try to fight against that dark nature of ours, hence why mankind is still bothered to fight corruption. Corruption after all is an existence we're trying to keep a hold on within ourselves and to let it run free before our eyes is practically an insult to our effort. At least, that's what I like to think," the doctor's shoulder shrugged at this as his back faced the living sentient virus. Alex had just sniffed at this  
"Yes I work for a company," the doctor had drawled, having heard the curt hiss of sharp inhale. "But at least I work with one with the _least_ amount of corruption. I even did a careful background check just to be sure their success was due to their own works and not from being tied to shady figures. Found it clean and the fact it was still young, it shows potential to being the _least_ to my worries but in time that would change. When it does I would be far gone into retirement by then, I hoped." The doctor exhaled. The living virus thought it was maybe due to the efforts of packing the heavy—for humans—box of files._

He realized now it was the thought of history repeating that was tiring, but that was what made things keep moving in life, the doctor had added when he saw the disdain on the living sentient 's struggles were the same as the repetitive nature of the sun rising from the east and setting to the west.

This plan was _too_ dependent on Ragland, Alex furrowed his brows. That was fine. He had depended on the doctor before, especially at that time the doctor was collecting samples on patient zero. Sometime he felt like the doctor was trying to lead him into _something_.

When asked what the doctor what he was researching, Ragland had simply replied with: _"I study the works of diseases. The marks they left in their victims and try to figure out how they kill and why, then I simply list the ways to counteract their works. I send reports of these files and samples from one of the corpse hence why a military base is nearby. The marines sent my work to the medical company outside this island. I then receive replies and reports on my work from my colleagues through calls and emails." The doctor jerked at his study corner where a computer's dead screen stood with a shiny fax machine beside it. Piles of opened files were scattered over the desk till they make a heap. Alex had then realized the heap was due to a wireless phone hiding beneath the papers._

He scowled again when he remembered the flaw with this plan. Ragland had to reveal Dana's identity. The name Mercer attached to her made her a big prize to any Blackwatch. _Her ties with you are a tie with Blacklight_, Alex scowled at the words. A normal patient won't do it, Ragland had told him. If she was listed as just a _random_ patient that had the virus, she would immediately carted off to the headquarter base on _this_ island.

But if she was _Dana Mercer_, they would want her out of the island for simple reason. They knew if she was kept within reach of the Monster of Manhattan, Alex would then come after, smashing any base that held her. They've seen how Alex chased after her across the city, so it was a guarantee fact that _he_ would come. The military didn't want any damage in their numbers and cause unnecessary bills, so the most strategic thing to do is to get her out of the island, out of the way from any prospect of getting smashed by the consequence.

What made it a flaw was that it made her a target to _other_ medical company. Especially those who knew who she is, and the powerful thing she ties to, and that made her a "potential'. So the moment her name is reported, a change of orders would be expected for her to be delivered to _this_ and _that_. Alex has to pull ranks for that, meaning he needs to get a Blackwatch commander that's the highest in the rank. The goal was to deliver her to _Ragland's_ company, not to _another_. He knew the risk. He also knew there are some who's greedy enough to take the risk of acquiring the prize even if it was a false promise, a false BIG promise.

This was a game of power struggle and Ragland assured him, the company he works for were doing this as a _favor_ for him, not to make Dana their Petri dish. Alex shook his head at that thought. There's a lot of trust he had to put into this plan, a lot of trust that he didn't have. Not to mention the restrain he has to put on. He has to work with Blackwatch and that made him prefer dumping himself into a tank full of BloodTox… if it weren't for the fact that it was for _her_.

"For her," Alex repeated the promise as he eyed the port military base before turning to leap off into the distant.

* * *

**The flashback for Ragland's view seems pretty awkward now...**


	2. A Fishing Game

_"Alex, what are you doing up there?" She squinted up the trees, picking out of the purple color poking out of the evergreen. Her brother always came here, whenever he can. For years he's been coming to this spot and for the first time her childlike mind wondered why._

_"Climbing trees, duh," her brother's voice snorted from above. Leaves rustling followed after him._

_"Why?" she cocked her head in curiosity. What could possibly be up there? She stared up the canopy where the sound of wood groaning under pressure exclaimed._

_"Uh, because I can," her brother retorted curtly._

_"So if I can do something, would that mean I'm allowed to do it?" the six-year old girl said innocently._

_There was a pause. "No," her brother's voice answered shortly. "And Dana, if I see you anywhere near my jar I swear I'll dye your clothes in horrid pink when I do your washing!"_

_"I won't Alex," the little girl said this too brightly but her face went back petulant. "What's up there, Alex?" this time a whine crept into her voice._

_A loud sigh could be heard. "Well if you want to know, you have to see it for yourself."_

_"You mean I'm allowed to climb trees?" Dana said slowly._

_"Only when you're with me but don't you dare do it with your friends or any trees taller than this. You know we can't deal with a broken bone in the house."_

_"I know," Dana nodded vigorously, remembering the concept of hospital bills being expensive for them._

_She eagerly went up to the leaning trunk of the tree and gripped the edge of the hollow hole it had. The sound of wood groaning was more felt when the wood vibrated as if some giant was nearby. Dana struggled to get up, her sneakers scraping against the rough bark. It was only when a pair of large hand wrapped around her hands that her endeavors were getting instant progress. Dana heard the grunt coming from her brother's mouth when she was lifted up. Her feet almost dancing above the leaning trunk before it was settled firmly back down with a guiding hand that gripped onto her tightly._

_"Grab onto the branch," her brother jerked to side._

_Her small hand can only lean on it. She could hardly wrap her hand around the thick wood. As if her brother knew, he crouched down awkwardly before her._

_"Just climb on my back," her brother voice drawled at her._

_Dana eagerly wrung her arm around her brother's neck. A choking noise escaped when she pull him to her._

_"Not so hard! Not so hard!" her brother's voice strangled as he choked._

_"Oh," was all she said when she leaned against her brother back and her arms loose around the neck like a necklace._

_"Wrap your leg around my waist," her brother said after a sigh. "Tightly," he added when she done that._

_She did so then the scene around her started to descend as her brother rise. Green whirl when he turned forward up against the trunk. She eyed the ground and noted the worn sneakers of her brother placing against the adjacent branches as if it was some kind of awkward steps to climb on. Wood groaned as they strained at the weight put upon them but they held firm as they rise higher. She felt the cool touch of leaves flicking the side of her face until her brother burst above the canopy and into the orange setting sun._

_"Look," his voice thrummed against her ear as she craned her head over his shoulder. Their hometown was laid out before them, technically sitting between the hills._

_She blinked against the sharp yellow ray of the sun but slowly, red spots faded as the view reveal before her._

_"Small, huh?" her brother said and loudly sniff._

_"I rather say it's big," her quiet voice muffled since her mouth was pressing against her brother's shoulder._

_The town spread out below them. The air quiet and had a serene quality in it._

_"You know there are cities that are way bigger than this," her brother commented as they stared._

_"Really?" Dana asked, curious how bigger things could get._

_"Yeah, it said that New York spread from horizon to horizon," her brother said as he pointed to his left and swept across the scene to the right. "And it doesn't just stop there, it keeps going. They even have an island to themselves. Did you know that, Dana?" Figures, her brother always know about this stuff._

_Dana didn't reply, waiting to hear more facts spouting._

_"One day I'm going to get out of this dump. I swear, I will," Alex's voice was gruff._

_The girl eyed the side of her brother's head._

_"To New York?" she guessed._

_"Maybe," he replied quietly. "You want to go there too, Dana?"_

_She thought about it. Going to somewhere far means being away from Mary, and Cheryl, Lillian too. And gosh, knowing what Lillian always gets herself into, Dana wasn't sure it was wise to leave that girl alone. But it also means getting away from that mean older boy that always jeers at her after school. He even threw rocks at her, and after the third day he did. Dana found the boy looking pretty much beaten up. Someone had hurt him like how Alex get hurts after coming home late at night. She has seen the blackened swollen eye and bleeding lips before, not to mention the bumps and bruises that follow with it. She had asked Alex how he got his, he replied nonchalantly with: it's what I get for messing in another's turf. When asked Alex about the bully, she didn't notice the darkened look on her brother's face when he answered "probably got it because he was asking for it" with a tone that she didn't like._

_"Well, Dana?" her brother's voice broke her thoughts._

_"Maybe," she said timidly, not sure if going away was better or worse._

_There was a sharp exhale of breath and for a while her brother stood there, unaware of her presence on his back._

_"ALEX! ALEX!" a shrieking voice in the distant broke the silence. "You fucking boy! You think you can take my money from me!"_

_"Urgh, it's the old hag," her brother grimaced as Dana whimpered, knowing that shriek from anywhere._

_"Why'd you take her money, Alex?" Dana's voice had immediately turned small._

_"I didn't. She probably forgot the fact that she spends it on some beer," Alex replied calmly._

_Sound of glass crashing could be heard. The girl winced at the sound._

_"If she keeps on doing that, we're not going to have a single cup in the house," her brother snarled as he immediately climb down to the lower branches before jumping down to the ground._

_Dana slid off his back when he crouched down. She immediately clamped her hand on her brother's for security. Perhaps even hoping tonight was not going to be another night of__those__._

_"I don't want to go there. She's in her mean mood," Dana's voice hushed as she looked up to her brother._

_Her brother just pursed as he scratched his tousle hair beneath his jersey's hood. "Tell you what. You sneak in the back while I distract her from the front. Get into the closet, squeeze your eyes and remember shut your ears. I think she's more into nasty mood right now."_

_Dana flinched when she heard the word nasty. "Last time she was nasty she'd almost hurt you Alex."_

_"With two strikes on her, she wouldn't dare," Alex snorted. "And "twas just a scratch anyway," he quoted this with a funny British accent._

_Dana snickered, remembering one of the characters her brother sometime put on just to make up for the lack of entertainment in their house._

_"C'mon, it's getting late. And making her wait is just pissing her off more." Alex tugged her hold in his hand._

_Dana could only feel the dreaded sensation sinking down her stomach. They walked back in silent, towards the house that sat in the middle of nowhere. Dana was curious why they had to live far from school while other kids were in town. Alex had commented about that fact with something like, don't want the neighbor hear her screaming. Once reaching the front of what looked like a brown dead-looking grass of a lawn, Dana was immediately hustle in. She had glanced at the dark tinted window at the front and saw some light was lit in it. That was bad news. It meant she was waiting._

_"Go, go, go!" Alex hissed and pushed her off to the side. "The door's unlock. I'm sure of it."_

_Dana ran off, sprinting off on her small leg as she heard the loud thump of her brother entering the house._

_"There you are, boy," a raspy slurry voice called. "Where have you've been?" Dana heard this easily since the house doesn't really have a proper 'insulation', whatever it was that her brother had said._

_"Out," her brother replied with a curt tone._

_"I said WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" their mother's voice turned into a shriek. "AND I EXPECT A PROPER ANSWER!"_

_"It's none of your business, hag."_

_Dana flinched when she heard that as she crept past the corner. She walked up to the concrete cracked steps leading up the kitchen._

_"It is my business. Ever since that councilor heard that little brat of a girl whining about her poor ugly face of a brother coming home late at night, they've been nosing about in what I spend, what I do, and… and… and," the voice was back to slurry._

_"That whining little brat of yours is Dana, your daughter."_

_"Hah! Daughter," the voice snorted. "For all I know. I just woke up in a hospital bed with the doctors coming up to me just so they could rid that cry baby brat of yours."_

_Dana climbed the steps and quietly, with all the quietness she could muster. She crept into the dark kitchen as the conversation goes on._

_"She is your daughter. She has the same father that I have, and if you really want to know, the same mother. I made a check on it when I took a swab of your free saliva you left plenty around when you pass out."_

_Dana stopped her creeping, knowing this was one of the late night projects her brother had been doing._

_"You… what?"_

_"Tell me who's the father, mom?" the last word was said with a mocking tone._

_"The fucker? You want to know about the fucker of a father he was? Who abandoned you, who left you with me? Who didn't feed you, or put a roof over—"_

_"YOU DID NONE OF THOSE THINGS, YOU BITCH! I WAS BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU SINCE THE BEGINNING!"_

_Dana wanted to cry. It frightened her. When her brother yelled he sounded completely different person. He sounded like… he sounded like… like _her_._

_"The only reason why I was brought back to you because you didn't want to go to jail! You use me as an excuse, and don't deny it! You are a fucking bitch and you know it! That's why he left you."_

_Dana immediately burst into a sprint when she got to the corridor outside. She passed the lit crack of a doorway that led to the living room._

_"You little shit…!" Glass smashing against the wall cracked the tense air._

_Running blindly in the dark, she smacked into a door. Opening it and without thought immediately went to the closet at the far end. Sounds of sharp slapping snapped with the tumbling of furniture thudding the house's floor. The girl crept into the darkness and immediately shut the door behind her, locking her in a world filled only of her heavy breathing. She slid into the corner of unfolded pile of clothes, and covered herself with a blanket, doing as her brother made her promised to do._

"There, there," a woman's voice whispered from the comforting darkness.

Dana immediately sat up from her nightmare and turned around only to see a hospital's corridor. She knew this corridor.

_"He's going to be okay, right? He's going to be okay, right?" a girl's voice trembled in one of the lit room. A fast-paced beeping could be heard echoing the hallway._

_"Look your brother needs extra attention from us right now. We can't have you distracting us." An older man's voice replied firmly._

_"Alex," Dana whined to the form lying on the table. She shook off the incessant pulling, refusing to leave his side. "Please don't leave me alone, again. Please don't leave me with_her_." Her voice trembled at the last part as she tugged violently on the stiff hand of her unconscious brother. Ignoring the blood and glass shards embedded in it. She looked up to her brother only to see him going through what the tall people call 'concussion'. The way they say it sounded bad._

_"Alex!"_

_"Get the girl out of here!"_

_"Where's the mother?"_

_"It's the mother's fault that the boy is here in the first place!"_

_"No matter, just get her out of the way."_

"Alex! Alex!" Dana yelled as she stood there in place of her little girl's self. "You bastard! Don't you fucking turn your back on me!"

_"Look Dana I don't have time for this. Is best you go take the ride back with your friends," her brother told her coldly. They stood outside. The golden lights from the hall illuminating warmly against their figure, but the night's chill could be felt through the expensive silk. The atmosphere was so different to the light one they had before. It's hard to imagine she came here to see her brother getting his diploma and a prize winner award in addition._

"Bullshit. I'm tired of excuses and craps. I want explanation now! What the fuck has happened to you, Alex?" She stared at this stranger that was suppose to be her brother. "After years of not seeing each other, only to find my brother completely changed from that twenty year old man I once knew," her hands raised then dropped back to her side, "but even then he was distant. And since when _the_ Alex, _my_ brother," she stressed, "associate himself with a shady company like Gentek?!" Dana snapped at her brother's leaning form that stood against the looming pillars. "And Alex, I know. You've been working as their research assistant, but after tonight, I can safely guess you're fully one of them, am I right?"

_"Honestly, Dana. I don't understand why you're insisting about this. I have my own life, you have yours. Deal with it."_

Dana blinked then blinked again. She frowned at the stilled picture. "You didn't say that. You said, you said—"

"Life happened to me, Dana. Move on, get through high school?" Alex suggested sarcastically. His face begins to blur before her.

Dana stared then shook her head. "No, this can't be happening." She clutched her head as the world swirl around her into a misty red place.

"Oh but it is," the whispers came from all around her, distant and yet close to her ears.

She stared and searched only to look into her brother's laptop's screen with a girl's photo displayed. Bright orange hair, wearing some kind of dull latex suit with a look that seems to gaze back. Looks like a photo one would get from arrest record.

"I've seen that girl before," her brother's voice sounded uncomfortably close, but Dana just ignored this feeling and focus on the matter at hand.

She nodded to what her brother said and elaborate just for the sake of his temporary amnesia, well she hoped it be but onto the matter. "Well it makes sense," she told him while her eyes were still fixed to the screen. Her mind wondered at the time who was this woman, why there was a file with her name on it, but knowing the answer isn't going to come out of her brother's mouth, she continued. "There are only two names in the file. One is yours. The second is this woman, Elizabeth Greene. She's in isolation at the Gentek building."

"Not anymore. We live through our son whom _she_ has no connection as _family_," her whispers emanate clearly before her, rippling the memories away. Her form slowly emerged into stark clarity before the journalist.

"Y-you're Elizabeth Greene." Dana eyes widen, not fully comprehending what was said. "Wh-what are you doing here? What's going on?" her voice shook and echoed around her.

"The time for waiting is over." Greene smiled serenely, a smile one would put on after long awaited reunion. "Come, meet his family. For this _she_ will be his true sister," her voice, fused with hundreds of others as she reached out to her.

"No." Dana shook vigorously, having heard the wailings beneath Greene's words and stepped back. "Stay away from me!" She turned and fled deeper to the deep recess of her mind.

* * *

Who's the big fish right now? Ignoring the marines hanging around at the side, he glanced around after disabling the viral detectors from picking _his_ virus strain. He also had to carry a jamming system that screwed with the super soldier's viral detection device. Good thing he'd done his homework on Blackwatch's gadget, but with the help from the memories he had within him. Alex had also decided against consuming a Blackwatch. Why want more voice when he already has what he needed, but in doing so… well no instant information.

_Oh c'mon, it's just one more voice. It's not like another's going to make the incessant wailings louder_, he frowned at that thought. This conscience thing was suppose to be good, right? He had donned on a Blackwatch identity that have been two weeks dead. And knowing these military pricks wore their gas mask to hide their identities, no one would be asking why or even _notice_ a dead guy was still walking. Still… he hated the enclosing feeling of the mask around his head. It's not like his hood, which had breathing space for one.

"Status report?" a sharp bark ordered through a buzzing noise that said the speaker was wearing a mask. Alex turned towards the super soldier addressing the group of marines.

"Sir! Third Battalion has managed to clear one of the major red zones to the south, sir!"

"Good, one less zone to worry about," a gruff replied came from the yellow striped jacket. "Move them out to the east. They're reports that the infected are starting a hive there."

"Sir! Permission to speak."

"Speak."

"When are the third battalion will be dismissed, sir?"

"Do you see those skies?" a retort came to the gas mask wearer. Leather glove pointed at the red glow presence hovering above the cityscapes. No doubt, its source was from some nearby hive. "As long _that_ is there, there won't be any dismissing, understand!"

"Sir! Yes sir!" A salute and the group of marines marched off.

Blackwatch still being a dick even though they got their nuts kicked. Alex wanted to snort at that thought, but instead he marched up to the Major.

"Sir! A doctor under our watch has reported Dana Mercer being in his custody. Request to deliver subject out of the island, sir!" Alex barked this with a computerized voice of a perfect Blackwatch personnel.

"Zeus' girl?"

Alex spine stiffened at how Dana was mentioned.

"Request denied. Zeus is dead. We don't need to worry if he's coming back from the dead. Nothing could survive a nuclear explosion." The Blackwatch Major scoffed.

_Fuck you!_ But Alex kept silent, instead he continue his tactic.

"Sir! We don't know that for sure. For all we know he might actually still be around, laying low. Sir!"

Those nearby could be heard grumbling uneasily. Alex smirked behind his mask, knowing his striking right on bull's-eye. All he needed to do is get the permission then later consume the shit excuse of a major when no one's looking and join the escort that's delivering Dana. With the rank, he can refuse the change of order, stating excuse or whatever. Easy. Since Ragland is under watch, he could be the Blackwatch that's ordered to keep tab on him.

That means he can stay near Dana, but too bad. By then, the 'major' would've been reported having a side-effect for carrying Blacklight virus. A dick of a major he was, Alex was sure a soldier would take the sudden symptom as an excuse to shoot the head off the super soldier. If not, he will shoot himself as in delirium. Ragland would then propose to take the poor sop corpse as study material during the confusion. Of course it would be _his_ head that gets shot, not the _real_ major. That was the disappointing part of the plan. Alex didn't get to be the one to shoot, instead he always have to get shot at.

"Permission to escort subject, sir!" Alex barked to the major. It was strange to refer Dana as a… thing. It felt wrong, just… wrong.

"What's your name…," Alex notice he eyed for his rank, "—corporal and what unit you're in?"

"Marshall, sir!" Alex hardly lied about that. The diseased soldier he wore was named Marshall. And for what unit he's in, Alex had noted numbers of sergeants' name from careful listening on their radio report. So naturally, he chose the one that had suffered the most casualties. That way if the question of 'who's that guy?' came, Alex could simply reply that he's just filling the blank. "Detwiller," he added shortly.

"Since you're up to date about this, permission is granted," The major answered curtly before the giant turned to motion the others standing around. "Get Detwiller team on this!" he barked.

"Sir, yes sir!"

Alex smirked. First step done. Success, for now. At least there's the satisfaction of mind fucking them with paranoia.

* * *

"Hey, asshole. I'm talking to you! Why haven't they notified us?" The Blackwatch officer snapped. The buzzing background noise of the helicopter blades outside almost deafened his ears if it weren't for his instinct fine-tuning it on just voices. "Are you fresh delivery because just so you know, this is how they get the exceptional and rid the greens. They sent you straight into a suicide operation." Detwiller seems to find this funny from how his muffled snicker could be heard. Sounded like he was hissing or was having a breathing problem.

The things he has to deal with by just being _nice_. _Yeah, to the wrong people, asshole_, his conscience replied to his pissed thoughts. Why oh why did he chose Detwiller. The guy was nothing but a total jackass that doesn't want to leave things alone. _I could use this as an opportunity to mind fuck, remember?_ Alex squinted behind his lens for that.

"I've been in one of the suicide operation. I was transferred after my team was slaughtered by Zeus," he tried sounding beyond pissed in mentioning the codename, but Alex should know he always sounds angry to everyone except for one. His tone pretty much caught the Blackwatchs' attention.

"Sorry man." Detwiller's voice lessened in jackass level. If Alex was touched by this, he didn't show it, probably because it was impossible to make facial expression with a mask on. "Most of my team got slaughtered also by that monster."—_probably because you're a jackass of a sergeant_— "We were just rendezvous to a military base till he came out of nowhere, the rest is history. I'm glad the monster is dead now." Alex wasn't sure if it was relief or bitterness he was hearing at the end. No matter, now's the chance to mind fuck.

"I don't know," Alex replied gruffly. "If you're one of the team that was sent to hunt him down, you should know that motherfucker is like a cockroach. I've seen that monster swallow more than five missiles all at once and yet none of them seems to do a thing on him besides looking like pretty explosions." Alex had to admit, getting swallowed by the roaring inferno of a fire storm does have its beauty. He just wished he didn't get choked by the chemicals burning in it.

Alex continued, knowing he was getting somewhere with the way they were stilled in anticipation, or maybe with fear. "I don't know how but I just got the feeling he was smiling about it beneath that black carapace armor he was wearing," and it was true, Alex did smirk on occasion when he got caught by the grenades, if having to flip back meant getting caught by it that is. "Then he started massacring through our ranks," Alex tried to add the last part in hush-full tone but with the helicopter blades turning outside, that was impossible. So he ended up yelling, sounding like a guy who was reliving through his worst nightmare, and with the memories of his victims flashing before his eyes, Alex technically was reliving the nightmare. The feelings of terror he instilled in their chest, in _his_ chest... maybe it's not so nice to mind fuck.

"Hey! Hey! Sit up, soldier!" the sergeant snapped, hoping the tone of command could bring the guy in front of him back. "The guy's dead!"

Alex pulled himself out of his reverie and turned sharply to the sergeant. He noticed the grip on his shoulders and immediately shoved it off him. "I rather not trust reports when referring to that monster." His voice was still shaking from the memory of his victim. To them, it was anger. "The last time _Zeus is down_, he still managed to get away while managing to get helicopters on fire," he snarled due to the guy touching him, but it convinced them.

He was partly exaggerating his voice since most of the time he shows no sign of sounding other than pissed.

"And if we're _really_," he stressed, "picking up Dana _Mercer_, you should know that we're treading into deep territory, Zeus' territory." Silence oozed after this. It was only when the curt reply of the major at front that brought them back to attention.

"…roger that Red Crown. We're sending in reinforcement." Alex turned to the voice.

"Copy that, major." A woman's voice answered back before shutting down.

"Alright team!" The major suddenly burst when he turned to face them, "we've got a hive nearby! The units sent there is requesting cavalry. Since we're closest, we're the cavalry!"

"But sir, our priority is to escort subject—" it wasn't Alex. It was another soldier. Actually, Alex wanted to say the same thing but he knew after having that chat about the horrible deaths associating with the Mercer name, only wanting to get on with it? It was technically asking for an accusing look.

"Rest assured team, the hive looks like it's about to crush. It just needs one last push," Major cut in with a tone that demanded no more.

Alex mused and thought about this detour. This was a good and bad thing. Bad because with a hive, comes with hunters that can somehow smell him out and when that happens, every pinky monsters would be wanting a piece of him. The good thing about this is that it'll provide distraction for him to nab the major, and also be diseased as corporal Marshall. Good riddance too, corporal Marshall was starting to creep him out.

"Target on sight," the pilot's voice boomed into their earpiece. Each soldier have an ear piece to pick up each other dialogue and was designed to get message even through the screams of dying comrades and roaring gunfire. Alex only has his fine hearing to depend on. He notice how one of the soldier fidgeted with his collar. _Must be where it is_, his thought wondered.

The microphone they wore in their uniform is not for the wearer to speak into it. It was designed to pick up voices around them only, just like what his hearing is doing. The radio communication on their belt was probably for long distant. Too bad he can't produce technology. He can produce a lookalike dummy, but that was all… unless he consume. If he did, he gets to carry all those gadgets amongst his biomass until his next victim, which he then gladly breakdown his last victim's belongings. He really didn't like having gizmo collected inside him, or ingesting them on that matter even though the discomfort was only for a second.

"Engaging target." Sounds of the helicopter's machine guns roared outside.

"Okay team, move, move! You know the procedure!" the major snapped at them.

Metal door slid back and a burst of the helicopter's blade whirring cut in. Alex let the others file out first before following after the major. Sliding down the wires, Alex held the M32 multiple grenade launcher that he had snatched before the helicopter ride. He likes the extra firepower and he couldn't resist it. Besides, it's the next best thing after javelin and they don't really allow javelin carriers on helicopter rides. Immediately when he put his foot down on the building's rooftop, sounds of roaring from hunters filled the air.

Alex quickly joins formation with Blackwatch, but sticks close to the middle, where the Major was delivering order. It was the best position to seize the major when the pack of hunters comes. Alex's goal was to get the major in the confusion when no one would notice while hunters ripped everyone apart, and keep the utility helicopter above them in perfect condition. Easy? If his additional goal was to reveal himself as Zeus of course. But it's not. He has to keep from using his powers. It was crucial.

Alex aimed and launched the grenade to the flood of infected trying to overrun the soldiers stationed below. Screams cut off, replaced by satisfying explosion joining in the percussion of death. The sounds of bullet casings clattering on the concrete with the roar of guns were all around Alex, but multiple roars of hunters in the distant warned of company coming from behind.

"HUNTERS AT SIX O'CLOCK!" he yelled at the group he was in.

"Fuck!" one of them swore when one of the pink monsters was in mid-air pounce, just above them. Alex swiveled and immediately shot with calculated precision onto its face. A burst of flame punched into it. He smiled behind his mask, seeing the scrunched look it made. The group around Alex immediately scattered when the hunter landed onto their spot with a jarring thump. Alex had rolled back long before they moved. He was sure the other groups were bowled by the other pinkies. Sounds of metal pounding from above made his eyes glance up. He growled when he notice from the corner of his sight, the monsters were trying to pounce on the utility helicopter. Fuck it! Alex snarled and immediately delved into the hive-mind.

He snarled mentally at them. A challenge between predators and to spice it, he showed his memories of Elizabeth Greene getting consumed by black tendrils, by him. Not letting the chance of the Hunter before him to roar angrily back in challenge, Alex had shot three grenades into its ugly stalactites filled mouth just as it opens it. Have fun chewing on that, he thought satisfyingly as the pink monster exploded into chunk of flesh. He wiped the blood off his lens and focused back to his surrounding, noticing all the hunters around were now coming for him.

_Look what I've got myself into_, he mentally sighed. He immediately backpedalled to the huge form of a super soldier that was the major. If corporal Marshall was going, he was going out with a bang with the dickhead major nearby 'happened' to survive. Alex smiled, noticing the rooftop had weapons set up in position, especially the javelin. He raced to his goal as monsters rushed all around him. Pink gleam of shiny slime surrounded his sight everywhere, and it was definitely not a pretty thing to look at.

Alex _accidentally_ bumped into the major just as he stepped, more like crunched on, a javelin in some mauled dead soldier's hand. Time slowed, chemical reaction happens and missiles locked within the javelin exploded. Alex's sight was awash with the orange glory of a firestorm just as he nabbed the super soldier. Since super soldiers carry his brand of Blacklight, Alex felt like he was reconnecting a part of himself he hadn't known, like how he was establishing a firm link to Greene's hive-mind. With that act complete in a split second of mental effort, he released a simple command to _this_ particular link. Consume.

At the instant it did Blacklight must have swarmed the soldier's defense system. Alex immediately stabbed his hand into the super soldier's insides and consumed him when it was deemed impossible before. Time resumed and the inferno washed over his now huge form. With him being a super soldier now, Alex can at least use a _bit_ of his power. And no one would question why he 'miraculously' survived after getting hit by a hunter. Scratch that, by a _pack_ of hunters.

Alex when full out punching flesh off as he swept, dodged while going so far to rip the limbs attached to those claws that's aiming for him. Going up close combat against hunters with empty hands, Alex can't help but learn respect for the super soldiers. Wait, why should he respect idiocy? Blackwatch design those soldiers to be idiots-on-steroid.

There was one thing Alex was not going to do. Give bear hugs to his enemy in which these soldiers prone to do in order to wrestle with their target. It's what made super soldiers pretty much super soldiers. Still, he's not going to press his face against the slimy chest of these gorilla monsters. He rather thinks they require more than just a squeeze. They require head-ripping! Alex grinned savagely beneath his mask as he yanked the third hunter's head off, leaving its lower jaw still attaching to the body.

Not letting it to heal, Alex immediately slammed his arm down its open throat, finishing it off with a major hole inside its chest. Biomass spattered on the roof's floor as they squelch beneath his boots. He let some he stepped on absorbed into him but the rest that's further out, he resisted his instinct on bringing it in. Alex did the opposite instead, command the biomass to disintegrate and to his major surprise, fresh dirt was what he got.

Alex turned for the rest but notice the last three of the monsters were gunned down by grenades and missiles from both the soldiers and helicopters. Roars of dying hunters were cut short when the sound of helicopter's blades suddenly swarmed the air. A distant rumble shook through the building's foundation, shaking the ground beneath their feet. Alex turned from his new height, and saw the hive below collapsed after one last missile was fired. Blackwatch really needs to invent a new way to kill hives without destroying expensive structures.

The sentient virus turned back to the surviving Blackwatch that was still standing on both feet. He noted the missing limbs, the arms bitten off no thanks to those pink brutes. He pitied those soldiers. Having open wounds brought by the infected means they're in contact with major infection. In short, they're dead to begin with from the moment they lost their limbs. Alex heard the gunshots banged to finish off the majorly wounded. As for those minors, Alex remembered they would receive shots to combat infection from starting.

He was curious how one inject could replenish a soldier's health. Was it a retrovirus? He hopes it's not a Redlight's strain. If it wasn't, it would still need genetic materials and from what Alex knew, bacteria's DNA could do something about that. Maybe it attacks the invading virus and once its job completes it turns dormant for easy picking. Alex frowned. Redlight though is a superior virus due to its mutation tendency. He doubts a counteract virus could help. Maybe it was this so called nanotech? Or perhaps it's just plain insulin, his dry thought answered. Yeah, insulin. Definitely insulin.

"Five men of our team besides Marshall and Cain, sir!" Detwiller's voice interrupted his thoughts. Good, to them, Marshall was just caught by an explosion probably from one of helicopter's missile. Shit stuff like this always happen and Alex couldn't help but agree with the dead marines in him. Blackwatch was just plain Nazis to others and to themselves.

"Right," he gathered his thoughts, "team. Move out! We still need to complete our primary objective!" Alex ordered using the super soldier's voice, which was like having a metal lode in his throat.

* * *

By the time they descend down on hospital, Alex's throat was itching. He hated the thick feeling of the super soldier's huge throat. Alex knew from the experience of others that it was similar to having the _suit's collar too tight for comfort_. The urge to retch was strong but he hid his discomfort when he stepped down on the landing. He marched up to the bright green forms gathered around what looked like a hospital's containment cube with wheels. Alex could see through the transparent plastic sheet that it was Dana in there with all the medical equipments rigged onto her, her face ashen as her eyes remained dead shut. He had once forced himself to stay by her side for a whole day, hoping for movements beneath those eyelids but none came. Oh god, Dana. She looks so pale… Alex forced himself to look away and focus on the medical staff. Ragland, on cue, step up to the front.

"Doctor Bradley Ragland, was it?" he eyed the doctor.

"Yes, I requested for Dana Mercer to be delivered to the headquarters of BioTech in Brooklyn," Ragland replied coolly. "I am to accompany as I am needed as one of the main researcher appointed to study her." The doctor glanced at his comatose patient. He didn't say _the virus_. He said _her_, Alex noted.

"I've already received permission from Colonel Rooks," The doctor added.

Colonel Rooks, huh. No general? Alex frowned as he wrecked through the super soldier's memories and found a surprising thing. No general at all unless it was a private confidential information. Hmm… as for where the new Red Crown Command centre, well they can't hide that location from him. All these Blackwatch and helicopters has to come from somewhere.

"Hurry major, the sedatives in her is running down with time," Ragland interrupted his thought.

Alex snatched the radio at his belt. Red Crown, Red Crown. This is Major…" This was procedure. He had to do it and besides that, he was sure the paranoia is high at the Command centre. After all, he sent back the minor wounded with conversation about Zeus being supposedly dead and his endeavors as a territorial asshole. And if there was a talk of Dana Mercer, he was sure it won't take pretty long to tie those matters up with ribbons of anxiety. "…Do we have Colonel Rook's order to deliver subject Dana A Mercer and subject's medical team to BioTech headquarter in Brooklyn?" Ragland had told him that this military man was far different than Randall. _That_, Alex has to see for himself.

"Permission given." The radio buzzed with familiar sound of a female operator. "Major's team is to accompany Doctor Bradley Ragland and escort subject Dana Mercer, over. Unit is also assigned to keep tab on Bradley Ragland's reports."

"Copy that, Red Crown," Alex replied blandly and shut the radio off. "Alright team. You heard what Red Crown said. We're on escort mission," he barked to the black uniformed individual and turned back to the doctor. "You may bring in the subject." He motioned Ragland.

The team of medical staff immediately wheeled the heavily equipped stretcher to the helicopter. Alex followed after with his team behind him. He smiled when he noted the nervous tension riding on their shoulders. Turning his eyes back to the main thought of his worry, he noticed the team of medical staff wasn't exactly the "strong" type, especially when it comes to lifting a standard hospital stretcher equipped with heavy monitoring technology. Immediately, he gestured to the soldiers to do the heavy lifting. Walking up to the Venom, he watched the two Blackwatch officers sliding the portable hospital cube into the helicopter.

"Jesus this thing is heavy!"

Alex had the urge to sprout his claws and kill that son of a bitch, but he quickly squashes it down with some trouble. The sentient virus just exhaled his fume and step up into the helicopter's hold. Blackwatch officers stepped aside when he took the job of securing the cargo, locking the straps through the gaps specially designed for this type of situation. He's not going to let these fuckers do the job when he can make sure of Dana's safety himself.

"Cargo secured. Stable flight to Brooklyn," he ordered the pilot. There's going to be no aerobatic maneuvers while Dana's on. He'll make sure on that. Taking his place at the front as the officer took their bench while the staffs took the bench across Alex begins the patient game. For too long he's been in disguise and frankly, his inner claws are twitching to form. He frowned at this. If this violence tendency continues to stick with him, he's going to have trouble adapting to a quiet life.

Helicopter's blade whirred outside. He let the sound droned into him and forced himself to _look_ relaxed. His eyes though were fixed on Brooklyn while his thoughts were focused on Dana's wellbeing. He was sure Ragland is keeping watch on her since he took the seat closest to her. The view of East River slowly retreated as the tall cityscape moved on to replace for another, only with no giants as buildings. Alex frowned at the lack of heights or the feel of urban forest. Granted that Manhattan did give him the feeling with the way building just stood tall to make any below feel like ants, he still expected all cities to give him the same _vibe_. Perhaps a walk around would change that. He just needed to get use to the change of scenery.

"Arriving Brooklyn, sir," The pilot beside him informed.

"Go east from here," Alex replied, noting their location on the military's GPS. "BioTech Headquarters is in Fort Greene." He added in coordinates to ease the pilot's navigation. Time to act funny. Alex started fidgeting, remembering how the infected carrier had a tendency to do that.

"Destination on sight, sir."

Alex eyed the building. Biotech didn't have a huge sign to advertise the company but still, it had the same industrial look of a glass box. Sure there were some amusing angles at the top, but just another tall giant glass box. The sentient virus fidgets more, which wasn't hard to do since he's pretty much itching beneath the huge disguise.

"Sir, are you alright?" Good, an observable officer had notice.

Alex replied with what a typical human would do, brushed it off with a wave. He noted a group of white dots was waiting on the landing pad. The helicopter begins their descent down. With a soft jolt running through the helicopter, the metal door at the back slid open. Alex went out to see one of the scientists coming to greet. Dana's stretcher though was pulled out carefully and was immediately handed to the team of scientists. He watched Dana got escorted into the building as greeting exchange happens before him.

"Ragland!" A grey haired man with a beard, lean, white, lots of white. White scientist lab coat, white skin, beard mostly white, almost the same age as the doctor, Alex noted as the scientist greeted Ragland.

"Anton," Ragland replied calmly. "It's good to see you," his hands come out to clasp the handshake offered.

Alex started to tremble. He remembered most of the infected carrier he consumed had a trigger finger or maybe it's just a Blackwatch being a dick.

"That's supposed to be my line after all, who's the one stuck on a quarantined island!" this Anton laughed cheerfully then he set sight on the team. On doing so, the team turned to their major who's fidgeting in a very suspicious way. "Sorry if I appear nosy, but _you_ seem to show signs of having symptoms," the new scientist said as if Alex was a simpleton.

_Smart prick_, Alex squinted when he noticed the doctor's eyes were intensely focused on him, contradicting the frailty in the scientist's expression. _A tricky bastard then_. Oh well, time to say goodbye. Alex clutched his throat and made a choking noise of retching and coughing. With shaking hand, he had taken a hold on his pistol and immediately raised it up to his team. As predicted, he was gunned down with the machine guns they have in reserve. Alex let the bullets momentum tip him over. With a heavy a thump, he lay dead on the helicopter's landing and had to focus on his wounds from closing.

"What the fuck just happened just now?!"

"If I may interrupt!" Alex heard Anton's voice called out. "Perhaps we could take the corpse to study on that question after all it's quite important considering it was a D-Code soldier."

"D-code class has never shown side effect for carrying strain of Blacklight."

"Perhaps it's about time it should," this Anton doctor replied blandly.

Sound of radio beeping crackled the tense air. "Red Crown! Red Crown! A D-Code class had shown side effect. The Major has been gunned down for it! Dr. Ragland's company has requested to study on the corpse."

There was a brief static before the familiar buzz of a woman's voice crackled. "Request given. Unit is to fall back and report this to Colonel Rooks."

"Copy that, Red Crown."

Alex held back the surge of triumph as figures stood over him. He stopped himself from flinching when the hands came to pull him up into his own stretcher.

"He's fucking heavy!" one of his team grunted when they lifted him up.

"What do you expect? He's a super soldier. They're fat ass," retorted another. Sounds of step marching and helicopter's blade whirling started. Alex felt the jolt from the wheels while the noises around him faded as they carted him off into the building. Vast skies were replaced with low ceiling as his gaze was fixed frozen on the two scientists above him.

"If I've known you, Ragland, I didn't know you're the type to take living patients as study material," Anton commented brightly to his opposite.

"I assure you, I'm actually doing this as a favor." Ragland replied. "Dana Mercer is far from being a study material, unless you can change her custodian's opinion otherwise."

"I thought you _are_ the custodian."

"Hardly, I only watch over her. Again for a favor in hopes for the future," Ragland reminded.

"Charitable, I see," Anton said before looking down at him. "At least I get to study one of _these_," he said with mirth twinkling in his eyes. Alex was disturbed by this. This scientist received a D-Code soldier classed corpse like it was some kind of Christmas toy he had longed wish.

"I'm afraid that too is not study material," Ragland said, and was that amusement in his voice? "Alex Mercer, meet Dr. Anton Koenig. Oh, you can trust him on keeping secrets."

_Very well, then_, he thought reluctantly. Alex form immediately shifted back before them with a flicker of black tendrils. He wanted to sigh happily at the release but not when he's being watched. Dr Koenig didn't bat his eyes at all, instead they squinted when they should have widened.

"A pleasure to meet you, Dr Koenig," Alex grated the appropriate greeting stiffly while not liking that look one bit.


	3. Paragons

**Paragons**

* * *

"Reports on numbers of dead sea creatures on Queen's coast are known to be more than a thousand…" the TV droned on in the background as Alex watched from his place at his sister's side.

"Your work, I guess." Ragland's voice cut in the news reporter's.

He turned to the doctor who was busy taking up notes on Dana's status.

"If you're talking about stopping the bomb, well… yeah," Alex said stiffly.

"Those poor sea creatures."

Alex shot a look at Ragland, not noticing the wry smile at the corner of the doctor's lips.

"Would you prefer it'd be dead New Yorkers?" he said grimly and gave an accusing glare.

"Just saying Alex. You may have saved thousands of lives, but you've disturbed another's life cycle in sacrifice," Ragland replied calmly.

"Why is it you say _may_. Didn't I actually save thousands of lives?"

"Who's to say that you really saved them, Alex," Ragland answered while not noticing the confused look on Alex's face. "Perhaps New York was doomed to begin with. What with the Outbreak and all, the world would've treated the city as a contamination. The survivors would be outcast to the outsiders. In a way their fate could be doomed to living a life of being alienated. Who's to say that's better than death."

"If that's the case, I still would've done it," he replied stiffly, knowing Dana was in range if he hadn't taken the bomb, plus Manhattan was not going to be another Hope Blackwatch can just simply blast off. He glanced back at the T.V, noting the scientist on the screen.

"I'm sorry. This investigation is private government's matter." The scientist answered in a computed voice to what the reporter had asked. "But what I can tell you is that this is the work of radiation."

"Some of the locals have reported a blinding flash of light in the distant. Would you say this might be the work of a nuclear terrorist bomb?" the female reporter said gravely.

_Spot on, reporter_, Alex thought quietly.

"Yes, this might be the work of the same terrorist that caused the Outbreak in Manhattan." The scientist answered slowly, knowing he was treading on a very thin line.

"Then the whole America is already panicking," Ragland commented at this in the background. "Three terrorist attacks within the same decade on the same soil. The trust between the government and people now more fragile than ever."

"How is it the government has not informed a nuclear bomb theft before in case such events like this happens."

"We don't want to cause mass panic to the country. If we had warned, it would've upset the livelihood and cause system to crash."

"But lives were at stake."

"So were the livelihoods. Which is important? The livelihood of our citizen, or our lives? In this case, the livelihood. We didn't report because we believed we could handle such matter in the background. The public must trust the government on such security matters."

Instead of focusing the statement at the end, the reporter shot another question. "Would you say this is the work of the same terrorist that caused 9/11?"

"Ah, no. We know this is a different person for sure."

"Can you please elaborate on that?"

"Confidential information." the scientist shook his head.

Silvery blue eyes slowly narrowed at this. Without turning, he opened his mouth. "I take it Blackwatch make sure anyone outside Manhattan knew nothing about Alexander J Mercer, perhaps Manhattan's residences also?" Alex noted.

"Yes," Ragland answered.

"How about Zeus?" Alex said his codename drily.

"Manhattan's citizens see no connection between the two. They only knew Zeus was the one release the infection which makes sense for them. An infected releasing the infection. Only the military knows the truth to what really happened," Ragland answered. "As for people on the outside, they wouldn't know who or what this Zeus, or Alex Mercer on that matter. Blackwatch make sure there was no release on names or pictures. Just words of terrorist and trouble on handling the infected."

"What we can say about this is that this nuclear attack is a failure," the scientist on the screen told them. "From investigation, we know he was solo on this."

"And this would make the terrorist dead if he was the one delivering?"

"We're here to confirm on that matter."

Alex can't help but admire the panic control the government was doing, telling about the terrorist attack, and yet taking this as an opportunity to actually assure the public that no more would be coming now he was a dead man. He had heard the speech the president made about this matter, but it was nothing like the words coming from the investigator's mouth. People trust their own, and the scientist might be seen as one of them and not just a government lackey.

"Ragland!"

Alex winced at the cheerful tone of Dr Koenig. The door that connected to Dana's room burst open.

"Heard the news?" the scientist said cheerfully when he gestured at the T.V.

"Yes."

"They put us on the project. Give us the funds to work on nanotech!"

Alex curious, paid attention on this.

"And this would help combat against the radiation poisoning?" Ragland looked up, interested.

"They didn't put in the word nano for jest, Bradley!" Anton said. "If we can successfully pull this project, we can actually half the affects on the damage and the time. Think of what the future would hold at this breakthrough."

"Can nanotech could be use to fight virus?" Alex interrupted the conversation.

"Huh?" Dr Koenig blinked and turned, finally noticing him in the room. "Perhaps," the grey haired scientist answered unsurely. "Technically nanotechnology is actually technology that's micro small. But if it can manipulate the chemical reactions, then it technically means manipulating matter to the molecular scale."

Alex just kept his poker face on. He didn't seem surprise at learning his virus could be deemed as nanotech, after all activating non-coding regions in genetic material is actually instructing certain types of chemical reaction to happen.

"How is it you're going to do this?" Alex asked this.

"Ah, a curious mind I see," Anton said cheerfully. "If we could perhaps create a microbe—we're not sure what type of parasite it's going to be, maybe an algae or some kind but microbe for now," the scientist explained quickly. "Let say the microbe absorbed the ions that came from the nuclear blast, but instead of being killed by it, it's actually activating a chemical process that will help it multiply. The sea creatures around would breathe this in and then the microbe would start working on the body to make it help heal the damage the radiation has done, and perhaps make it adapt to the high level of radiation without damage on nature. If that's the case, we're technically creating a counteract against cancer without side-effects. It would be a challenge but it can be possible!" Koenig explained excitedly.

The living sentient processed this slowly, having to take a lot in but subconsciously, the scientists within him were intrigued.

"This would take years, Anton," Ragland voiced this grimly.

"And radiation can last through time. Past nuclear meltdown is a proof on that," Dr Koenig replied briskly. "This project could take at _least_ a decade but I assure you, it has more than fifty percent chance of succeeding than failing."

"Who's overlooking the financial part in this project?" Ragland asked.

"Galloway and in time, his daughter would take his place," Koenig answered.

"One of the top successful business companies is funding this?" Ragland had blinked in surprise at this.

"I struck a deal with them but with the government at my side, the favors are on us!" Dr Koenig smiled at this.

A sly businessman also, what else can this scientist be? Alex thought curiously.

"I'll tell you more on what happened at the business deal but in the mean time, I've got to set this project up. Time is of the essence!"

He watched as the doctor's white form disappeared out of the door in a hurry. Turning, he saw Ragland standing still, eyes on the door but the look on him tell his mind were in the distant. Ragland, noticing Alex watching turned to him.

"You know you could take this opportunity for a new life, Alex." The doctor told him.

Alex frowned. "How is this hiding? I would be putting myself in the public's spotlight." Alex really didn't like the public exposure in this. The company is too much of a paragon. It's what made Alex dislike about the project.

"Tell me what you propose to do, then?"

Alex thought about it and taking the fact about his nature, he would like to go somewhere where there wasn't the risk of people getting consume (and he dreaded to think, infected) by him if the times come when he fall into temptation.

"Go somewhere far. No humans around." Alex shrugged. "The wilderness maybe?"

He thought about it. A few missing deers in the number isn't going to make some ranger cry, will it? He was sure his biomass will dwindle in time since it's technically his _food_ or in proper term _energy fuel_ for his working cells, plus biomass was what helps him metabolize. If Alex was sure, his body is in constant state of chemical reaction that's technically recycling as much as it can. It made him able to live without consuming for a long time— as long as he doesn't exert too much. Still, the rule of nature even applies on him. He spends energy. He needs to replace that energy. One day he'll get _hungry_ in his fasting, and Alex would want to have resource that's not going to give him a headache or cause him to have a mental breakdown. Sure, he's going to have memories on the deer's fear when it was hunted, but it would be a fear he can relish without consequence on his conscience.

"Alex, that's not hiding. That's running away," Ragland commented on his answer.

The virus sentient looked up with a glare on his face. "And how is _that_," the scorn could be heard in the undertone, "running away?"

"When you hide, you're supposedly to try breaking your enemy's line of sight. To do that, you have to get behind something. In a way, disguises are like that. You go _behind_ an image so what they see is only the image. But _you_ going off to the wilderness _is_ _not_ hiding. One thing for sure, it's something your enemies expect, thus you're still within his sight," Ragland explained calmly. "You're technically running into the distant, Alex."

Alex thought about it and knew the doctor had a point. He sighed. "What do you propose then?"

"Work with us."

Alex glared at the doctor for that. The idea being scientist just reminded him too much of Doctor Alexander J Mercer, his creator, and frankly, he really didn't want to have more connection with that man.

"Hear me out, Alex." Ragland was in his lecture mode, Alex noted in irritant. That means time is ticking. "The company has a paragon reputation. It means people trust BioTech, even militant trust BioTech. The last thing they would expect is the monster of Manhattan…," Alex scowled at his title, "…disguised as one of them. BioTech is the last thing on their mind since your reputation would make many assume you go to another genetic research company that's like Gentek."

"Evil attracting evil," Alex commented drily on that then rolled his eyes. Honestly, is this how human think like? Good and evil? Alex wanted to scoff. He wished the world were as simple as black and white. But it's not, just shades of grey. Alex knew from memories that there wasn't really a good, and a bad. Take Blackwatch as an example. Most of them were sociopathic trigger-happy morons, but under all those bloody dark thoughts were families and children they were trying to protect. Pretty hypocritical but still, they _believed_ they were doing something good overall. Like one of Alex's many reasons to act, they knew no one else can clean up the mess, so they had to be the one to do it. And they do it in a very thorough way.

Ragland just ignored what he'd said and continued on. "That's what most thinkers would assume. The others can easily predict you going off to some rural area where no one knows about you or has no one to notify you. But if you work with BioTech, they can only assume you're just another paragon scientist trying to improve the world."

Alex blinked. "It still won't work." He shook his head. "Prominent company like BioTech allows public scrutiny on their staff. Someone is bound to get suspicious on the out-of-the-blue scientist that has no history of existing."

"Alex, you do have a Gentek scientist in you." Ragland pointed out the obvious.

"And what of it," the sentient virus snapped. Actually, he has more than just _a_ scientist in him. He has numerous.

Ragland sighed. "Gentek is a nation-wide research company and when the government found out it has failed the most important project with devastating consequence, you can be sure they will dispense the company for easy picking."

Alex gave a look to the doctor that demands explanation.

"It means Gentek asset is getting ripped apart. Koenig right now is trying to merge BioTech's asset with what's left of Gentek's," Ragland elaborated calmly.

He frowned at this. "Koenig is recruiting scientists with a history of associating human testing." The doctor didn't say anything to deny it so Alex gave him an accusing look, which was actually a cold glare with eyes narrowing action in it.

Seeing that, Ragland promptly replied with, "Koenig knows how to hold a leash, Alex. But as you have said, these scientists have a reputation on… questioning principles," Ragland said the last part with a tone that clearly meant he knows that was bullshit. "With that out in the public, no companies with shady background would try to hire them unless they want to put themselves in the spotlight. BioTech with a paragon attitude would make many of those scientists turn them down, but being desperate, they won't. Public would see this something along the line: scientists trying to redeem themselves by working with BioTech."

"So you want me to be a Gentek scientist, come in and work with BioTech, presuming they won't find the scientist sudden appearance in Brooklyn funny. _This_," he didn't try to hide the incredulous in his voice, "would make me the least suspicious guy when all eyes are actually on me," Alex said this slowly.

"They focus on image. They question the image, but none would lead them to think about the Monster of Manhattan," Ragland pointed out. "The Outbreak was a time of confusion, Alex. So it wouldn't be surprising the system lost track on who died and who was alive, and where they were at the time."

Alex mused for a while, his thought wondered. "What did you do to make Dr Koenig stopped from spilling the beans?" he turned to stare at the doctor.

"I just told him about you and knowing Anton, he has a curiosity that would have killed him if he weren't a powerful man or smart on that matter."

You bet he does, Alex thought sourly, remembering the disturbing look the BioTech scientist gave him.

"I take it he also sees me as an asset to have, right?" there was a challenge in his voice that was asking the doctor to say the opposite.

Ragland, thinking along the line just said, "You can take it as an opportunity to be more helpful for your sister while being near her." He gestured at the pale woman lying in bed between them.

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow at the mention of his sister.

"Dana needs to be studied, Alex." Ragland finally admitted. "With Redlight in her, I would need to experiment cures and knowing you, you won't allow it seeing you're not in control of the consequence."

Hearing his action was deliberately keeping Dana from the chance of getting cured, Alex felt like he was punched to the guts—a _painful_ punch to the guts.

Alex clenched his teeth tightly before speaking up. "Tell me, doctor," he looked up with glaring silvery eyes, "how is it the virus is dormant yet remained unharmed. Shouldn't it be wiped out from the system by now?" Alex didn't get it. Redlight was technically a sitting duck inside Dana, and sitting ducks tend to get killed.

"Alex, I've been trying to find out what's happening to her and most of it is baffling. She's a medical anomaly." Alex winced as memories flashed through his mind. Greene first sign being more than just infected was being an anomaly that baffled her researchers. "Plus, I'd rather not have her immune system act up. It might make the virus react, and that would be lethal." Lethal… Ragland's voice echoed into him.

For once Alex did something humane. He rubbed his face with his hands then stared down at the blue linoleum floor. "I need to think about this." He stood up, the stool groaning in relief. Alex strode out to the exit but stopped. Slightly turning to the left, he opened his mouth but hesitate. "Do what you can for Dana…," he slowly let the words came out of his mouth, "even if you have to… experiment. The least I can do is trust you on this." Sounds of door swung shut followed after him.

Ragland watched him leave, hearing the tapping of shoes fading into the corridor.

* * *

Alex had many things on his mind. Some were deep complicated issue that demands him to argue with himself, which was a headache. Others were simple yet still troubling. He has to tie up loose ribbons. One, about the D-code classed having side-effects. Only one having side-effects was kind of suspicious after all. Another, he needs the current intel on Blackwatch and the infected. He stood on top of one of north Brooklyn's low building, viewing the navy yard in front of him that's directly across Manhattan.

He needs to find a way to get across and back without raising an eyebrow and that was a challenge. How he crossed the body of water after his recovery from the nuclear explosion was easy. Blackwatch, at that time, were in confusion. Marines were in confusion at the events that happened. So he had taken advantage on their distracted state and simply jumped over their heads using the blown up bridge they're stationed on. It had been nighttime anyway, so they didn't notice the black streak against the night sky.

The Reagan was there, having been moved from Hudson River. He eyed the jets on it from the distant but shook himself from thinking on the prospect of using it. Later, besides landing a jet on Manhattan is a pain knowing there's no space for such landing, or no such landing designed for a jet. Alex knew he won't have any major trouble getting on the Reagan from Brooklyn. There he could take a helicopter ride to Manhattan. It was getting out again that was more troubling. The other way is use the body of water to hide his presence. It meant getting in the water and swimming _in it_.

He shuddered violently, black tendrils flickering over his form. It's not like water was hurting him. It's just the feeling of it… the cold wet running feeling against him, especially when the _wet_ running feeling… he only shuddered more violently at the thought of it. He hates the feeling of it but he does not, he repeated to himself many time before, does not have a phobia of water. Just a complete hatred for it. He remembered the first time he was in water. He was thrown off by some missile from a tank and went falling into east river. The sudden intense touch of cold running liquid made him jumping straight-out. He had even converted his biomass into gas form to get him shooting out and as far away as possible from the dreaded feeling of water.

Conquer your fear, master your fear, popped in the quotes mentioned louder than the constant whispers in the background. Alex just scowled. It's not fear, just intense dislike. Fear, his subconscious repeated. Dislike, his thought replied. Fear. Dislike. Fear. Alex ended up frowning to himself. Whatever issue he tries to think through, he ended up getting a headache, which he was trying to avoid in the first place.

He has many memories of New Yorkers conquering their… fear at the same time overcoming their major dislike. The memories of childhood, of the times he—no, _them_ rebelling at the dinner table just because the taste of vegetable repulsed him—them; the marines' experiences on the first time seeing the horror of zombies, of the infected being real and not just some game, or comics they read as a child. It was all part of living, all part of growing up.

Considering Alex's conscious being just a few days old and yet has a serious personality of a grown up, he wasn't sure the last part applied to him, added to the fact that he has numerous memories of being past the growing up stage. _But it doesn't mean we all stop growing. We're all learning about ourselves every time simply because we're realizing we change through times_. Alex frowned. It was the memories from a mother, who was, at that moment, cooking while replying this to her successful businessman son.

Alex was tempted on dumping himself into the river just to see if it would shut up the memories. Looking at the water, he had to admit. It was the easiest way in and out of Manhattan. He thought about it. Did he really need to breathe? Can he adapt not to? Alex did 'breathe' but not in the same sense. For one thing, he doesn't have lungs. Breathing was simply for exchanging gas and through respiration, cells breakdown nutrients into absorbable energy fuel to spent on, metabolizing in short.

This process was what made him regenerate cells. It's what heals him. So he can assume he was 'breathing' through his skin (or clothes, which was part of him) and that biomass has oxygen-based molecules within, which they do— an irritating scientist voice added in. Still, Alex finds the rushing of fresh cool air caressing his inside relieving. It was why he was prone to do subconscious humane act. He did note on the fact that he exhale a lot and he can guess that's due to carbon dioxide needed to be expel instantly.

Surprisingly he can get the air punched out of him even when he has no lungs. It was quite a learning experience for him when he'd noted this little fact about him from a hunter's pounding. His cells though still need oxygen. Even anaerobic cells need oxygen. Alex was sure he could adapt himself to depend only on the oxygen within his biomass for a short while, maybe cycle the oxygen within the carbon dioxide he still produces. Would that make him photosynthesizing while cellular respiring? He guess this was close he could get 'to holding your breath'. If that's the case… he will need to try consuming a tree or an alga.

The point is consume the cell that's in charge of photosynthesizing just to confirm the facts that his body is doing what he thinks its doing, or can do on that matter... Or he can develop gills which he would need to consume a fish for the genes that were in charge on the breathing through gills part, but fuck that. Surely breathing through his skin meant he could breathe water.

Fuck it! Get into the damn water! Not hopping over it like some skipping stone, but _in_ the water, at least 15m deep _beneath_ the surface and don't break through it until the end—and no more stalling. Just do it. Alex gave a shuddering exhale before turning around and stepping off the building, landing into a deserted alleyway.

* * *

The moment he saw the concrete walls of Manhattan's coast view, Alex shoot through the depth of water and onto the ground level above. He was gasping violently when he clutched the rails in death grip. The metal railings groaning as it was squeezed like some tin in his hold. Clearly, he wasn't caring at all if people saw him. Tumbling over the railings as if it was the morgue all over again, Alex stumbled off and pushed himself through the passing crowds.

These days the New Yorkers were more concerned at their own livelihood instead of another, and seeing a man coming out from the water was threatening what little they have on their normal lives. So most recovered from their initial shock and went on with it. It was a good thing marines weren't nearby to see what happened, and if they did, they expected something else than a man shooting out of water.

Alex held back the urge to flicker his form to clear the feeling of running water sliding down against…his…'skin'…, his eyes twitched violently. He reminded himself with the bright prospect on screwing Blackwatch super soldiers than his discomfort. Clenching his teeth, eyes fixed on the concrete pavement beneath him, he shoved past people, pushing them while they cry out in protest at the jogger progressing through them. Now wasn't the time to burst into crazy speed, not after he worked so hard on keeping Blackwatch and the military unsure about his status. He glanced up, doing a fast scan before striding into a deserted alleyway.

Once far from unwanted viewers, he burst into speed, to the brick walls around him. Ceramics crack beneath his shoes as he raced up to the top. To save time in his climb, he jumps with a burst of crack left from where his feet last placed. Zipping straight past the last meters and up onto the flat rooftop, Alex immediately wired his senses into locating the nearest super soldiers. It was strange to use the hive-mind, _his_ hive-mind. It wasn't exactly like the tight connections of whispering memories and experiences, nor was it really a part of Redlight's collection of wailings.

It was a very thin link, not meant for communication but more to state that they were connected. A silent link that must be sought out. Almost overlooked if he wasn't experienced at this. Alex realized how lucky he was at finding the links to his other variants. He was able to connect to the super soldier back then due to virus being in close proximity and directly in front of his reach. But having consumed the soldier, he now needn't be nearby to pick the others out.

There they are. His eyes squinted on the glowing dots in distant. Blacklight's presence was white with hints of red hue. Redlight's was fierce yellow-orange. He wondered if he could command the super soldier's action. Wanting to see evidence if it would work, Alex streaked across the rooftops, towards the nearest Blackwatch patrol. He wasn't going to let any of his virus exist outside his body, so it was about time to rid those soldiers. Perhaps he should locate all the samples and bring them back inside him. He should.

Blacklight's virus is not something to be tampered with. He knew his strain was the dangerous of the variants. _Its effect is variable_, McMullen's voice drifted into his thoughts. Unpredictable diverse side-effects is what he was looking for. It can be good and it can be bad. It can be chaotic if shit happens. But they were able to control that chaos and force it to give them something good, until now.

What made the super soldier really different than him? He knew the DX-1120 was the weaker variant, the tampered Blacklight, the typed version. But still, shouldn't they be infected? Shouldn't they be like him? _A ticking time bomb_. His variant can activate the non-coding regions and do more. It changed his body into a chimera. It was what made him able to carry the virus while it was active all the time, while it _manifest_.

DX-1120 does none of that because Alex knew, activating the non-coding and rewriting the DNA was what kills and give the bad side-effects to the subject. And since it didn't for them, it would mean their DNAs were only spliced. This is what gave them the body with the 'instruction' of being strong, resilient and fast. So it was Blacklight's _tamed_ retrovirus. It also made these soldiers still alive, still living. They were still 'them', still had some part that's not picked apart… unlike him who had nothing in common with Alex Mercer's DNA besides the fact that it was his creator's genetic material that his sentience is based on.

Alex skidded to a stop near the edge of the roof, stopping before the sight of the dead zone. He was on the other side of the block, opposite to the patrol. Remembering the night he took the nuclear bomb away, most of Manhattan's buildings had been on fire with the old Red Crown Command base overrun with the infected. Now the buildings were desolate. The place evacuated. The streets quiet, abandoned of life with the signs of the lack of maintenance could be seen. Broken glasses and gaping holes in the industrial glass buildings, fractured asphalt road, charred skeleton remains of cars scattered all over. There was even a tank sticking out the gaping hole _in_ the road.

Alex could remember the chaos of that twilight day that made this mess. It was one of the most relishing memories that was his since it was the time he couldn't care less if he was Alex Mercer, Zeus, or DX-1118 C. He was just a hunter hunting down those who'd escaped him. With that in reminder, it was time he finish that particular mission of his, starting with the remaining 161 super soldiers and getting his tampered virus back. He will need the help from the web of intrigue for this.

* * *

"Red Crown! Red Crown! Oh god! Oh shit! He's coming! He's coming! The virus finally acting up! Red Crown—!" the message was cut off with the sound of something squelch.

"Red Crown! Our super soldier has—" choking noise crackled with a heavy thump.

"Sir, we've got a major problem. The super soldier is attacking our own team!" Gun shots fired in the background. "Request for clearance to kill!" That was clearly a marine. Only a marine would ask that question. Blackwatch would have shot the person dead on the first sign it had symptoms.

"Holy motherfucking god…his body… holy crap, he's melting into puddles and it-it-it's moving!"

"Shut those transmissions lieutenant!" Colonel Rooks snapped at Riley. Rooks huffed as he rubbed his face then turned sharply to the screen with the map of Manhattan displayed on it. "Send the orders out. Bring all the super soldiers back to the sample station," he ordered.

"Exterminate, sir?"

"With this keep going, we've no choice."

"Do you think it's Zeus? He is Blacklight," Lieutenant Riley stared at his commander, seeing no change in the man's posture at the mention of the codename.

"That, we can't be sure. If he's the one behind it, why now? Why not before when he could have done it to save himself some trouble?" Rooks shook his head at the thought of this. "What's clear is that we can't have _these_," Rooks waved at the air but Riley knew he was gesturing at the matter on the super soldiers, "disrupting our progress against the infected."

"How about Dana Mercer, sir?"

"The fucking ghoul has his hand tightly wrapped around her and with the federal bureaus sticking their noses in, we can't have our men a yard near the BioTech building," Rooks snarled. "If I had my hands on that girl, I would've use her as bait for the infected, just to see if the cause of our troubles…," he jabbed the red area on the map, especially the dead zone area southeast of Manhattan, "…is her and to see if Zeus is still alive."

"Is she… infected?" Riley said this unsurely.

"Read the fucking reports lieutenant!" Rooks snapped. "She holds Redlight virus in her and not only that her biological status is under _anomaly_. MOTHER's earlier reports are a similar case to hers. And don't think it didn't cross your mind, Riley!" Rooks turned his head around sharply. "With her being near Blacklight and all, I can safely assume she's going to be a potential trouble in the horizon."

"You think she holds the Blacklight virus _with_ the Redlight's? I've seen the lab reports on this. It's a failure. Shit happens to the victim."

"And if she's a successful combination of both, we'll know for sure she's going to be one hell of a _MOTHER_ for the new infected." His colonel grimaced and noticed the unconvinced look in Riley's eyes. "Blacklight is Redlight that's perfected. How it works is that its rewrites its host's DNA so that its _host_ mutates successfully. The mother virus mutates _itself_ by producing different strains and variants using its host. Several of new versions of virus were discovered because of Redlight but all imperfect because their host was imperfect." Knowing Riley is a soldier, he elaborated this in a simple summary. "Its purpose on doing this is to make a virus that will mutate its host into something more _with it_."

"So you're saying Redlight is experimenting itself using its host?"

Rooks nodded. "Now if you put Blacklight into it with how it successfully mutate a host that Redlight would find it as ideal. All those virus produced will all be something more, but don't stop there," he held his hand up to Riley who was about to say something, "make Redlight the host now that it has settled in…" he waited.

"Shit happens, sir." Riley finally admitted grimly.

The thought of Redlight producing all those new variants and strains that's already something more thanks to Blacklight perfecting its host, and not only that, Blacklight itself successfully mutating each of Redlight's produce _even_ more… Rooks just scowled.

* * *

He stalked the group quietly, striding on the buildings adjacent to their path. A crashing noise made them stopped and lo and behold, a pinky monster emerged from the rubbles. The Hunter roared and immediately ran for them. Guns opened fire but to the hunter it's like getting pelted by pebbles and it takes more than pebbles to stop this pinky brute. It crashed into the group of Blackwatch. Claws slicing through bodies while blood spattered and sprayed into the air. Alex watched on as the normal soldiers gets destroyed, leaving only the super soldier and the hunter. The super soldier launched into speed, tackling the monster while it was giving its victorious roar.

Alex stared at the scene before him, fixated at the real-life actions. This was way better entertainment than those shows on TV. Super soldier moved to punch but the hunter jumped back. Before the soldier could go back into defense, the hunter pounced, smacking the life out of the bulky soldier. Alex had to admit, the soldier was stubborn. While trapped under its paw, getting smacked by its claws, the soldier could be heard grunting as he digs into its limb. Breaking through its slimy flesh, the soldier yanked his hand into its squishy black mass and begins yanking the insides of the limb that held him.

Alex's fine hearings tune in on the sounds of bones cracking beneath the grunting and growling. The soldier was breaking the bones of the hunter. The monster, finally feeling the pain, arched back, lifting its forefront paws as it roared in pain. Taking this opportunity, the soldier rolled out beneath its presence.

Stop procrastinating, his mind reminded him. Alex scowled and sighed. He turned around and went straight to the huge metal boxes that are fixed to the high-rise rooftops. Letting a slight grunt of effort escaped him as he wrenched one off its screws and carried the heavy industrial air condition over his head. Alex aimed on the fight between hunter and soldier. He threw it, sending it flying through the air and saw it slammed into the super soldier. Immediately he leaped into a black streak, morphing his right arm into a giant gleaming blade. Another grunt, he air dashed right above the hunter and just as it looked up to the source of its disturbance, Alex air sliced right through its body with a slam that webbed cracks into the road.

Getting up only to see the Hunter's body melt into a black puddle of biomass, he went over to the dented metal box while ignoring the black mass seeping into him from beneath his shoes. Alex's right arm was still in its great blade mode just in case the soldier is still kicking. Punting the heavy dented metal box across the street, he stood curious over the struggling super soldier at his feet. He watched the opened wounds and even the clothes knit back together. Frowning at that, Alex immediately activated the virus within the soldier.

"All super soldiers are to rendezvous—"

Alex kicked the radio away. The guy couldn't do a thing. Couldn't understand why suddenly his strength wasn't there nor the speed that served for him. He didn't know the virus within him was slowly ripping his DNA apart, splicing and splicing till it was a jumble mess. A croak escape from the black gasmask when Zeus snatch the soldier's neck and lift him up, crushing the wind pipes slowly as bones could be heard cracking.

"Don't tell me you didn't ask for this," Alex said this in a grim low tone while remembering the memories of the last soldier. "You sign up for this. You want what Blacklight gives." Silvery-blue eyes glared from beneath the hood. "I know this. Your comrade admits this to me." The sentient virus tapped the side of its hood. "And it just makes you another greedy human." A hint of a snarl curled the edge of his lips.

_We can't sit back and watch the virus. We had to experience it._ Blackwatch, a black operation military bend at fighting the virus yet made some of their ranks have the virus.

_He who fights monster becomes monster themselves._ The whispers told him.

_It's part of human nature_, Ragland's words rang, _we try to fight against that dark nature of ours_.

Alex squinted as all of this flash within a second. He immediately stabbed his arm into the soldier right beneath the ribs, injecting his strain while commanding his other variant into his body. The heavy presence in his hand unraveled into a swarm of black tendrils, immediately weaving themselves into him while he felt the biomass absorb through his tendrils. Alex closed his eyes as the onslaught of memories came in like a flood. What else can mankind teach him now?

The answer was nothing. Though each individual life was different, it all had the same fixed pattern. Live, struggle, exist. Happy, sad, anger, hatred and love. All the same only with different reasons and thoughts. Alex noted the experiences, letting in the good things about this soldier's life at the same time remind himself of the bad things. He felt the last memories of the fear, of the anger, of the hatred the guy had for him. It served as a reminder that he wasn't _him_, that he wasn't Blackwatch or the super soldier when he immersed in the memories.

Alex got the coordinates where the sample is stationed and was what is the Red Crown said? Oh yes, rendezvous back to the lab station, the lab station that had his samples. What a coincidence.

* * *

The reason why Alex needed the coordinates of where the sample located at was simple. Through the infected vision, via the hive-mind, shows only those who haves the virus _active_ in them. Now if the virus was separate, stored in some case that has no living host cells, well it isn't active. Alex was sure there was still tugging links to those inactive virus, but it's not strong enough for him to differ against the others what with the whispers, wailings, and the strong pulls to the super soldiers. It's hard to differentiate with _all of that_ in the background.

Donning again the uncomfortable form of the super soldier, Alex walked into the lab station that produces the super soldier. It was more of a medical station than a lab as most props and tools were for 'medicating' the virus into their subject. A medical station with testing field, Alex added when he noted weight equipments, the obstacle course and the observation room that viewed a treadmill. He saw all of this when he marched in with the other huge super soldiers. Good thing he still has the jamming device that screwed with the viral detector they're equipped with. If this keeps going, Alex might need to carry electronic devices within him in the future.

The sentient virus crinkled his nose behind his mask, noting the ass-smelling BloodTox. It made him feel tingl-ish but the feeling didn't grow worse than that. Alex looked around. His eyes immediately zoom in on the map of Manhattan. Red zones were blinking on it and he noticed the dead zone, southeast of Manhattan were all flashing the most, meaning the infected are mostly active around that area. He frowned when he curiously noted all activities were all craning toward southeast… towards Brooklyn.

"Soldiers!" a voice above barked their attention.

Alex noted it was from a giant screen above them with a bald man displayed on it. This must be Colonel Rooks.

"From recent reports, it's shown that they've been side-effects, symptoms amongst your rank," Colonel said this grimly. "From that, I regretfully have to say, we have to terminate any assets that's involve the D-code project."

If that news were given to an average New Yorker, the whole area would've immediately turned into chaos with yelling protesting against the Colonel. But Blackwatch wasn't an average New Yorker. Blackwatch is full of "perfect soldier". So there was only silence around Alex. None was protesting against their fate. He found this particular silence disturbing.

"And you know our creed. We will burn our own to hold our line even the scientists," Rooks continued grimly.

"What!"

At least the scientists are panicking.

"You can't do that, you can't—"

"As for now all D-Code stations are in lock down," Rooks went on, ignoring the general hubbub. "Do one last order as a Blackwatch. Restrict the scientists. Make sure they don't get out. I don't want them getting out with any of the sample as I don't want this project to be repeated again, understand!"

"Sir, yes sir!" All the super soldiers saluted as the screen blacked out. Immediately there was a cry of protest from the scientists being manhandled.

If this was happening then... Alex squinted then his eyes widened—ah, fuck.

* * *

Explosion burst from the building, sending chunks of charred concretes flying all over as the whoosh of hot air startled nearby citizens. Cars stopped immediately outside the perimeter. Drivers got out to watch in horror at the swirling firestorm swallowing the building whole. Another boom, the fire lashed out again before vanishing with a whirl. Black smokes begin to rise from the remains of the rubbles.

It was to their great surprise when they notice movements amongst the smokes, but they shook it off as imagination. Unknown to them a black figure was rising, pushing off the fractured slabs of concrete with ease. Its form flickered with black tendrils before settling down to reveal an immaculate black leather jacket worn with brown hoody. Alex coughed out the chemicals that got into his mass, not noticing the debris chunks ejected out of his body with a toss from his black tendrils. He coughed once more into his palm and immediately looked around, sighing in relief at the black smokes around, hiding him from unwanted eyes.

Alex frowned as he reviewed the status of his mission. All links that tugged towards the super soldiers were all gone. It made it quieter _in there_ with the nagging feelings that told his virus is outside his body were also gone.

"Thank you, Rooks, for doing my job," Alex growled.


	4. Questions

**Questions**

* * *

Patient zero… the first victim of Blacklight, the victims of Doctor Alexander J Mercer during his last moment of living. Alex was trying to clean up the last of his virus still out there. Unlike the super soldier's virus, patient zero holds his _untyped_ virus. It'll be dormant since the bodies failed to be what the virus was working on. Alex hopes Blackwatch didn't recover them. That would be annoying if it is. He headed towards Harlem, north of Manhattan where the military base AE-One is. That worried him since he knew all the infecteds are now located to the south where the dead zones are. Harlem though was once an infected area, so it'll be deserted thanks to safety procedure.

No one wants to get infected by some leftover virus still hanging around. It's likely the marines would be there along with scientists to disinfect the area. They'll comply with wearing safety suit. That means numbers entering a once-infected area will be restricted to the number of equipments, which—Alex knew—there's not many and that made progress slow. Alex also knew there are only two patient zero bodies still existing.

Randall, paranoid back then what with McMullen probably babbling about getting his hand on anything that has Blacklight's virus and doing more suspicious research on it, ordered destruction on the bodies. McMullen managed to save two, sending it to Ragland only to be recovered when Randall found out. Alex hopes those bodies are left untouched since it would be much easier to bring them into him when their host are whole. Getting them back while they're all over the place in chunks of flesh is not easy, and if the building they're in is destroyed, they'll be squashed between rubbles and in crooked tight spaces.

Granted that Alex is strong and doesn't find anything impossibly difficult, but when it comes to _mental_ _effort_ especially the part where he would need to coax the virus back into him and locating them against annoying noisy presences in his head, that's like trying to tug a piece of paper beneath a stubborn boulder. Not to mention the bodies are dead, meaning dead cells. There's nothing the virus could work with, so it will stay happily inactive…unless some poor living organism decides to take up as its new host. In the meantime, it'll be impossible to make them active, which would make things easy in the first place.

He meandered over Manhattan's rooftop, laying low when helicopters past over or avoiding them. He passed by Central Park and stopped for a moment at the sight of it. Instead of greenery that gave a break to the grey urban background, it was covered with a thick haze of misty red. _I'll check that out later when I get back_, he promised and moved on. Alex saw his destination as he glide by releasing pressurize gas-version of his biomass. When nearing the base, he immediately dived like a bulleting hawk and landed onto the deserted road with a heavy crack. The military base was clear of any sign of infection. There weren't any red stains or red sticky webs growing on the roads or on the building like some infected moss. A good sign. The virus is receding.

He marched towards the abandoned military base, relieved that it was still whole. Striding into the desolate gaping hole of the garage's doorway, he entered the room that would be used as a parking lot. A place, he recalled through memories, meant for making equipments transfer to transport vehicle easier. Going toward the lab area on the other end, he noted with a crinkle of his nose, the bodies left out were way past rotting. The mesh security glass that observed the lab were broken through, making the fumes hit straight into his nose.

Alex looked around critically, climbing over the opening with his shoes crunching on the littering glass shards. He eyed the tables where the corpses are. They looked like they were in their last stage of decomposing… almost a pile of dirt if it weren't for the bones sticking out to say otherwise. Blacklight could be bothering the parasites growing in the bodies. It could be mutating it into working faster so that the bodies decompose into dirt quicker. Alex shook his head from the notion. The next thing the world needs is parasites that decompose bodies within second, and that means if it got out, living people on the street are turning into dirt right before everyone's eyes.

But just to make sure… Alex switched his vision and grimaced. Blacklight was active with the way the pile of dirt was smeared and glowed white. Well he's not going to let any of the mutated parasites exists. He'll do the same thing as he'd done to the super soldiers. He commanded Blacklight to activate a chemical reaction within its host cells, a reaction he knew it would kill its host but only made his black tendrils flicker over his arm. Alex watched as the white glow begins to recede into nothing. Blacklight virus was either destroying the parasite's DNA or mutating so much that the parasites began to eat each other and ended up breaking apart.

Alex drummed his fingers on the metal observation table in waiting. The thought of consuming came up but Alex brushed that thought aside. Consuming parasites was to him like licking dirt clean, and he's not going to have his tendrils mopping over the rot remains of a corpse—but it gets things thoroughly clean, disinfected-ly clean. He made a face at that thought then noticed the membranous liquid wetting the pile of dirt. He watched in surprise as the thin liquid membrane gathered up to be a black-red mass that was dribbling towards him. Of all the billions of micro-small parasites, barely a drop of biomass was produced. Really?

Alex just rolled his eyes and let the new bit of him join the club. He turned around and stopped to see two thread of black liquid sliding across the floor, coming from the other two rotting bodies and towards his black shoes. He almost overlooked it as a black crack in the tiles if it weren't for how straight its trail was… or moving on that matter. He sighed and let it joined up… sure, a few genetic materials and bacteria cells of some parasites are what he needs right now.

The realization of his virus capable at infecting parasites also made him wondered what else the Blacklight could do, or couldn't? Perhaps infects trees into becoming an embodiment of Mother Nature's wrath. Oh yeah, that's exactly what New York needs, a fucking man-eating trees. How's that for a change in nature? Alex snorted at that thought and begin his venture back to south of Manhattan. Yes, he's a virus. Yes, he's a product of nature that's perfected by man. No, he's not going to help Mother Earth win the war against the idiotic humans polluting the world.

Global warming to him was simply a change in climate that will go away in time. What nature does are not without reason, even if it means killing off the source of its trouble. Besides, nature always wins. How else is he here then? And that troubled him. If he's here, couldn't something like him be produced again? Not by man of course, perhaps by nature. PARIAH wasn't exactly of man or nature on that matter. The boy's existence is catalyzed by both.

Alex knew he was a different case. His existence was brought by the virus nature, a nature that has already existed, just nudged up in the evolution scale by mankind. The sentient virus knows man cannot create nor destroy. Rule of nature, absolute law of physics. They can make and they can tear things apart 'til it's just particles, but it always comes back one way or another. It just takes time to gather up just as nature needs time to evolve. He frowned deeply. He knew whatever virus Redlight came from must have come from nature in the first place, and it must be lethal enough that it made those who watched acted.

Is that why they experiment on the virus in the first place? They saw how nature works, they saw it killed them in ways they couldn't and they wanted to find out what made it tic? Looking at it in a grand scale, Alex knew mankind is one of nature's worker-bees in terms of speeding up evolution, but in doing so, it screwed up natural selection. Tipping the scales way too much will drag everything down, the scales itself.

He mentally shook himself of these thoughts as he sprinted across the rooftops. Now is not the time to ponder. But it does point out something important. Were there any other Runners out there besides Elizabeth Greene, before Greene? Alex winced when memories flashed to greet that question. He immediately stopped in his sprinting, not wanting to crash on some building's side or stumbling over the edges at the top.

_"Sir… is it true he caught the last runner on his own?"_ He—Blackwatch asked Randall.

Randall kept his eyes on the monitor when he answered with this, "_Not caught. Killed."_

The image of Captain Cross flashed. The captain standing there over the female form. The Runner, dead, at his feet.

As if the devil itself had shown up, the captain's voice echoed into his mind. "_It's likely the target is a Runner. The last we encountered dragged ass across the Southwest United States for weeks, infecting as she went."_

Alex blinked as the memories past within seconds. They weren't talking about Greene definitely, since Cross _killed_ the Runner, and Idaho was in the northwest of United State, so if any of the infected survived the wipe-out at Hope, it couldn't have gone that _far_ what with Blackwatch already there. He knew Greene was in Blackwatch's custody ever since Hope's outbreak, which happened in the year 1969 so no other Runners of Redlight besides her. _She's a runner with nowhere to run._ She was locked up all the way but she was transferred around a lot. Maybe some had escaped from her—no, not escaped. Greene was literally spreading virus like it was seed and the world was her garden. And seeds incubate through time.

_"…It represents the most intriguing human carrier ever discovered to date. Its body produces hundreds of unique strains on a daily basis. Most of harmless, a few are deadly… It's like its evolving at a rapid pace. It's war-dialing at a genetic level. It's becoming something else..."_

_"…It seems like she's… waiting for something..."_

If that were the case, she would've plant at whatever opportunity she could get and these Runners sprouts out in answer. Perhaps when Greene was in custody they took some of the viruses Redlight produced. Is that where others come from? From some other experiment that went out of control? How many experiments were there besides Carnival I and II, before Blacklight? Is that why Blackwatch existed in the first place, to clean up messes if ever one of these 'experiments' messed up? Alex scowled at the thought. What with Blackwatch existing _before_ Hope, Alex can't help but wonder, how many times history was repeated. Or perhaps its nature itself producing these Runners of other virus.

That would also make sense… Blackwatch existing in the first place due to biological warfare existing, but any standard military should be able to dealt that… on some level. So Blackwatch must have established from some breakthrough in biological warfare, something like a Runner existing in the first place. That would mean the first Runner could be of nature. Redlight's predecessor though must absolutely come from nature. It had to. It made sense. A _natural_ virus that produced other viruses, especially the raw Redlight strain…_most are harmless, a few deadly_… but Blackwatch perfected it, thinking they found the key to fighting every biological war they can get. _…This…source. It's the key to genetics—but it's also a machine, churning out the worst viruses ever seen_… A race then, to beat it all. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

That last quote doesn't make sense. A single hit from a missile he can survive, but it weakens him a bit, not make him stronger. Unless it was talking about how one learns from mistake, how one adapts. Alex shook his head. Enough with this questioning and thinking. Pay attention to the sky. The last thing he needs is some Apache or a Blackhawk picking him out, so he moved, remembering his next things-to-do in his priority list.

* * *

Alex landed with a heavy thump on the building's top and immediately went to the corner viewing Central Park. His sight focused into the distant, noticing the whole park was emanating a foreboding red mist. Perimeters surrounded the place and every soldier, every personnel was wearing a gas mask and a biohazard suit. What's going on here? He frowned, not liking these questions. More and more just keeps popping up! He sniffed the air noting the sweet-smelling scents that plants, trees, even fresh dirt gives off when wet. It's definitely not BloodTox since it was ass-smelling. What's really notable about it is that it was coming from the park.

Alex leaped, glided over the perimeters and immediately into the thick mist. A tree emerged suddenly right below him. Alex quickly air dashed then dropped himself into a clearing. All over his body, he could feel tingles running through him. And the air… it was damp, wet…humid. His shoes made squelching noise when he stepped on something. Alex looked down to what he was standing on and notice red roots—no, red tentacles draping the grounds. From this much tentacles, Alex knew, he was standing on some kind of hive. All the known hives he's seen are always on buildings, and Central Park has no building. He looked around, trying to see through the thick red mist but heard radios crackling. Alex shoots off into the area where the trees were thickest, covered by the growing slimy membranous roots. He waited there, out of sight from being spotted.

"Fascinating. Redlight must have had produced a strain that could infect the microbes in the ground." A voice, muffled behind some device—gasmask, Alex recalled.

"Yeah… so what does it mean?" A dull bland voice, probably a soldier escorting the guy.

"Microbes are known to be in the ground. It's what makes the earth rich. Redlight is just using it as its hosts. All these red mist are actually microbes finally at work, rising from the ground into the air. They gather on the trees to make it easy to grow spores. The microbes then eat the trees to produce more infected microbes."

"So can we burn them?"

"No. That's just makes it worse. Fire heats air, and air rise, that would spread the infected microbes even further."

"Then what do we do?"

"Just make sure you don't get caught in the roots—not the trees', the infection's. The trees are just supports and materials, they're not infected."

Alex just blinked when hearing this. He was almost distracted by the sight of the moving cocoon that grew slimy red on the trees.

"So as long it doesn't get the food it needs, like some civ, it doesn't grow?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll take note on that. Don't feed the wolf," the voice said drily.

So Redlight is still evolving. Alex grounded his teeth together. From earlier intel he saw, infected activities were seen all over the southeast of Manhattan… all towards Brooklyn. These movements it was taking, they're all… it _feels_ like it was directed. Alex's ears perked up when hearing helicopters from above. There was a sound of heavy material flapping. He looked up and squinted then noticed the glimmers of white fabric poking through the mist, and judging from the distant, way high above. A distant noise of machine whirred, a fan, maybe and more noise of heavy flapping could be heard. He watched the red sky above darkened as if night had suddenly approached.

Wait. Alex blinked in realization. They're setting this place up like some containment tent! That would trap the microbes from escaping… with him. Natural-instincts in him bucked. Shit, I need to get out of here! He thought crossly and burst into speed. He immediately went to the nearest exit that was nothing but a white glowing line in the distant… and it was disappearing as something slowly descends over it. Alex ducked under the tarp settling down, running out in blurring speed, almost bowling past some scientists that were ready to rig it to the ground.

"Infected! Shoot it! Shoot it!"

Well the good thing they didn't recognize him, but… Apache and Blackhawks were suddenly swarming the air. Oh great, just great! I need to put one of my disguises! Alex thought desperately as he shoot into some alleyway nearby, breaking the line of sight—he hoped. His body begins to shift. Tendrils swarming and flickering his form as they reweave themselves into a new shape, into a marine. By then, Alex was walking out of the building in his green uniform and was progressing his way to a more crowded area.

* * *

_"Hey. Hey Dana. Hey!"_

_Dana blinked, having got distracted by a black beady eye in the bushes. She looked up to her brother who was standing tall on some boulder with the heavy backpack she recalled carrying the stuff for two of them._

_"Canada's nice, eh?" Alex grinned at her when he did the Canadian thing. "Not sulking over your brother getting scholarship, hmm?"_

_Dana shook her head, having long gone over the sulky stage. Sure her brother was fifteen, which meant he still had three years of high school left—and that means he stays in town with her, but he blew those off by getting high marks in his grades and scholarships. Now he's going to move out to some big city to attend university. She'd asked: why not college? Her brother face darkened at the mention of it as he'd answered with: I don't like people, then his lips widened into a grin, college is for average and I'm no average joe. She'd grinned at the cheesy voiceover._

_So lots and lots of scholarship mean going away. Was it three he got and a recommendation? She couldn't remember and couldn't understand how one could be so smart. Her brother had replied to her wryly with this: probably I got hit in the head on the sweet spots. She didn't find that funny. It had been a year after _that_ last 'incident'._

_This year had been good. It was quiet. It was peaceful. There wasn't any yelling or beatings… just blissful happiness. Alex was less disgruntled too, but that was soon replace with the disgruntles of having to study for many things. So she couldn't bother him a lot but it seems he was growing distant with all the studies he does. Alex had notice the blue state his sister was in and decided to ask a favor from his biology teacher who's also his tutor. Getting flying marks and recommendation made him able to squeeze favors from his teachers, such as making field trips for with his sister. His teacher understood where this was going just went with it._

_Dana knew why her brother was doing this, and that made her sad yet happy. Going to Canada was going somewhere new. It also felt like a farewell from her brother, her child-like mind though, brushed this off quickly. It's not like Alex is going to stop her from seeing him, or calling him or talking to him. She knew some kids don't go well with their siblings, and she was _not_ one of those kids. But she had to wonder, why in the world did her brother chose tramping in some national park._

_Most of her brother's choices and habits are peculiar; his extreme habit of studying, his avoidance on people and his cold behavior. She'd seen _that_ side of him when they were briefly moved to some orphanage. When a kid cries, her brother just ignored it while others would gather. When the matron chided him, her brother would have anger on his face. When other children bothered him, he almost seemed to snarl at them. Dana just thought he was being dramatic at having his studies disturbed._

_She did notice those odd things that made him an 'odd' one out, as the grown-ups say. While children grossed out or yell 'cool' at the sight of dissecting frogs, Alex was quiet and had a deep intense concentration, maybe fascination. But it wasn't only that. When the orphanage kids found some run-over possum outside. The girls were either making a fuss with their 'eek'-ing, or crying over it like some pet animal that died suddenly. The boys were just poking with dead sticks or daring each other to do atrocities on it._

_But Alex, her quiet brother, said nothing, showed nothing, and didn't feel anything for it. He did not behave like the others. He wasn't in the crowd. Dana had seen this from the orphanage's window and she couldn't help but notice his… distance to others. Of course, that made her brother a target. But whenever a 'weirdo!' or 'freak!' came out, they were quickly silenced after one day._

_Dana had noticed, the kids that tried to taunt him had awful scarring and bruising the next day, and the look of fear in their eyes, especially at her brother. Was it because they're intimidated by the sight of him kick-boxing? She had to admit, her brother was a pro on that… but he wasn't really into it. It was more of a side hobby he does when he's grumpy. She couldn't understand why any of these bother others. It's not like its wrong to be odd, right._

_"C'mon, Dana." Alex called out up ahead. "You want to see the waterfall or not?"_

_"Uh, yeah!" Dana called back. "I think I just saw a deer!"_

_"You'll see more deer if you hurry up! Can't make my bio teacher pissed at waiting for us, y'know!"_

Dana stared at the memory, feeling the blissful childhood memory immersed her. She turned to another, one she was ten and her brother nineteen. It was also the last true memory she had with Alex, the rest was sad waiting at the phone and disappointment at the lack of emails.

_"Uh oh," Dana muttered when the computer blue-screened on her. "Alex is going to be pissed," she whispered to herself while wide-eye. As if knowing the crime she'd done, the door of his dorm slammed open. Dana jumped from the worn seat and immediately scampered but skidded to a stop when hearing glass shattering. She winced at the sound, reminding of dark memories of her childhood._

_"FUUUUCK!" a man's voice yelled._

_Woah, someone's mad! Dana hesitatingly crept out of the corner and saw Alex standing over mirror shards, his right fist bleeding. She glanced at the wall beside him. The mirror hanged there, ruined with how most of its bits now on the carpeted floor._

_"Alex," Dana's voice was quiet._

_Her brother fumed, breathing heavy and loudly in the tensed air. He seemed not to hear her as he stared angrily at the shards near his feet. It was as if their existence had insulted him or something and he'd decided to punch it._

_"Alex," Dana called louder._

_Alex blinked, breaking his stupor. He looked up and saw his sister, confused, as if he didn't know she was here to visit him._

_"What's wrong?" Dana asked, inching closer to her now calming brother._

_Immediately her brother's face scowled. "Just some professor who'd disagreed with me," he snarled. Dana winced at the tone. She stood there awkwardly before remembering her brother's bleeding hand. Without word, she grasped a handful of tissues from the tissue box nearby then took her brother's hand. Alex immediately snatched his hand from her hold. He turned his back on her and walked off only to stop. Dana didn't know what to say really, only that her brother was being an ass, yeah. So she chose to do something and begin picking the mirror shards off the floor._

_"Was it the research paper?" she said quietly as she gathered the big shards together._

_Her brother grunted in answer then there was a heavy sigh. "Go to the kitchen. Ask the staff for dishtowel and newspapers. I'll pick up the shards." Alex told her briskly. "Besides, it's my mess," he said and crouched down by her to pick up the shards._

_"Should I ask for bandages?" Dana asked and stood up, eyeing his bleeding hand. Doesn't it hurt?_

_"Yeah."_

_"Okay." Dana left only to hear angry muttering behind her, something along the lines…fucking professor…shit…it's clearly…knows nothing…! The rest was incoherent keywords Dana would have trouble spelling._

_Going out the cold corridors that connected to her brother's dorm room, passing by loud music and screaming bunch of students in some dorm, she went down some stairs and into the warmly lit dining hall. Going up to the shiny swinging door at the other end, she pushed past it and entered a steamy stainless steel room with the sound of tap water gushing. Most of the staffs were busy preparing dinner for the Christmas buffet, so they were all over the place. Dana muster her confidence and immediately tap the back of one of the workers. The worker turned, face soured with how the scruffy eyebrows scrunched up. Jeez, ain't anyone happy for Christmas, Dana thought as she mentally cringed at that look the dude was giving._

_"Can I have a dry dish towel, and newspapers?" she spoke loudly over the hiss of cooking and clanging of pots, plates. "Also do you have a med-kit?!"_

_The dude just rolled his eyes and stuck his hands out of sink. He shook his hands to dry, flickering drops of water everywhere, pelting on Dana. She scrunched her face crossly in answer. Don't they have drying towel nearby? She thought critically as she followed the worker while dodging others rushing back and forth. She stopped in some area that looked like a laundry room tucked out of corner. Dishtowel shoved into her view suddenly. Dana blinked and quickly grabbed it. Dry paper crackled with the sound of cupboard sliding open greeted her ears. She waited patiently, slightly leaning from one foot to the other. Newspaper tossed into her load with a roll of bandage dropped into her arm._

_"Here you go," the worker grumble and begin pushing her towards the exit before she could say anything._

_Shoved out with the sound of swinging doors shutting off the noises, Dana crinkled her nose. A famous Mercer move when things annoyed them._

_"What an asshole," the ten years old miffed but quickly chided herself. Christmas was the time holidays, and that means people are busy…annoyingly busy, she thought sourly, remembering the last year Christmas she couldn't come to visit Alex since he'd been so 'busy'. She sighed. At least she's here._

_Dana hurried to her brother's dorm room. Entering it with a kick pushing the door shut behind, she went over to her brother._

_"Here." She handed the bandage then crouched down. Placing the newspaper flatly on the floor, she used to the dishtowel to brush the shards onto it, just like how her brother had done when she was six. Cleaning up the house early in the morning, making sure there are no glass shards from beer bottles. She blinked herself back to the present, and looked up. Noticing Alex hunched over the computer._

_"Alex," she said quietly. "You still mad?" She wondered if her brother found out she'd blue-screened his computer._

_"Nah, I can't be bothered," her brother brushed off. "Want to go out?" he turned to look over his shoulder._

_"In the snow?" Inside she'd brightened up._

_"Yeah. There's ice-skating."_

_"Don't you have studies?"_

_"Yeah, but the professors can fuck themselves," Alex replied nonchalantly. "Want to skate or not? Central Park has a nice one I heard."_

_"Sure!" Dana grinned._

"You miss him."

Dana winced, hearing _that_ voice. She had long gotten use to her stalker and frankly running away is not going to solve problem. Honestly, whatever corner of her dream/memories/mind-thing, she was always there watching from somewhere close by. She could _feel_ her, and she didn't like the intimacy that tries to caress and lull her. Dana couldn't understand how she felt this when there's nothing yet something, but then dreams are always known to be weird. This Greene girl was probably part of her imagination, so she decided to indulge it.

"Well, yeah. I'm his sister," Dana replied drily to the voice. "Sisters should watch out for their brothers, especially when they become jackass later on in life." She rolled her eyes at this.

"It must be sad…" the thousand of soft wailings weaved into the words.

Dana cringed and tried to put distance between her and _it_. She only ended up moving herself into memories that gave her sad reminders.

_"What do you mean I can't come?" Dana frowned displeasingly as she leaned against the wall, hogging the phone. A group of sophomore clique girls sneered at her, especially at her punkish clothes. Dana just flipped the bird at their back. So what she's not wearing latest fashion of branded clothes. Besides, she knows how the clothes were made and the cost for making it. She's not going to wear a brand of clothes that reaps on slaving poor homeless kids in third world country._

_"Look, I'm busy. I've got papers to complete and I need to get on with my research work," her brother's voice answered gruffly._

_"But it's the holidays jerk, I thought we agreed to spend together," she said crossly. "You promised," her voice wobbled._

_"That trick doesn't work on me anymore. For one thing, I'm immune to it, for another, you're getting old. Your voice ruins it."_

_Dana rolled her eyes. Okay, if I can't come, at least tell me how's it going up there, she thought. "Got a girlfriend, Alex?" she teased._

_Her brother was quiet._

_"Oh my fucking god." Dana's eyes widened. "Alex has finally got a girlfriend. Rah~! The crowds goes wild!" She burst out, laughing in the corridor and getting an odd glance from those who heard her._

_"I don't have a girlfriend." Alex's voice had a grimaced tone in it._

_"Then…" Dana waited._

_"She's way out of my league with her prestigious background, Dana. So bye—" the phone clicked with a flat tone ringing dully back to her ear._

_Dana raised her eyebrow at this. "Well sorry," she snorted and put the phone back. Damn. She should have pushed her brother on letting her visit. It's been like what three-four years now since her last one. Plus the phone calls were getting reduced weeks by weeks, months by months. She barely heard from her brother and this was like his third call after five months. It's not like she's getting email, which she was sure her brother's email address was changed, or abandoned, and he forgot to tell her about it._

Dana knew that was like the last ever call she would get from her brother. He would ringed her again three years later just to tell the news of his diploma and prize giving night event. By then she would be way beyond pissed, having find out about his research assistant status for some shady company. Gentek. Those high prestigious paranoid companies are always up to no good, and Gentek was mostly on top of the list. They don't really promote themselves since they're cooped up so tightly behind their wall, figuratively and virtually. Trying to crack the security walls on its databases would be asking for jail with a long life sentence. A humanitarian girl by heart but a snarky quick-witted writer in mind made her daring to make her own opportunity. Dana and her hacker friends had narrowly escaped the cost of their endeavor when Gentek was picked as one of their victims.

She was eighteen then, and she'd been up to no good. Snooping around, getting inside information for publishing articles under another alias but she'd settle down, wanting a stable life and not one of getting in jail often. She'd also gone softer in her spunk… and more tolerant on people. Journalism does that. It also made her wanted to reconnect with her brother, thinking if she could reduce the physical distance between them, it would make her brother's life easier, made it easier for him to connect.

That's why she came to New York, but holy crap, she didn't expected her brother stumbling back into her life, mumbling about conspiracy, back-stabbers and shadowy military. It was also the time he'd visited her often—not to know how she was going, but how much she had progress on getting information. Paranoia was high in her brother's life… and then he went missing for almost a fortnight.

"Then our son came," Greene's voice whisper softly, disturbing Dana's thought on Alex's recent behaviors.

Dana frowned. What is it with this son? Plus it was really creepy she can hear her thoughts, which makes sense since Greene was in her mind/dream—whatever. If this was a dream, then she must be sleeping. She couldn't remember what exactly made her sleep so she focused on other question. How long has she been asleep? Does the time pass in dreams is the same outside? She wondered. What was Alex doing? Is he worried? Will he be there when she wakes up? That question didn't fit the Alex she _knew_.

The Alex that turned into a jackass would've probably go on with his life—she doesn't know, her brother's sudden appearance on her doorstep shaken that opinion. If he was the Alex from far back then, he would try. But the amnesiac Alex she _knows_ would. That was a definite. She'd remembered how he'd stepped into the room when Blackwatch was trying to force her, how he'd straightly went and punched…through the soldier. Alex had that intense look that was unlike the calm aloof brother she'd known. Even when her brother got into a fight, he'd always kept the cold look.

This Alex… the one that just burst through after a week of being missing, was different. When he'd asked her questions after they've escaped her apartment, his voice was soft, not demanding nor had the tone of irritant, like something had pissed him off, which—knowing her brother—happens a lot. When she'd found out about his amnesia, it explain much of his strange manner… and the look he'd usually give to her. During the times they were laying low while getting to her friend's apartment, he'd been quiet but not in the same sense that oozes stiffness… but awkwardness, like he didn't know what to say or do. Mostly he'd be scanning the crowds or glancing behind his shoulder, fidgeting. The fidgeting was so unlike the Alex she knew. That man had been stiff and cold, so still… like a rock.

Dana noted these small changes, like the look he puts on when they arrived at her friend's apartment, when his guard was down enough. The look he gives were the look of a guy who's lost... well not exactly lost. More like a guy who was trying to absorb the answer right in front of him. When he'd glanced at her, he put on a look of curiosity and sometime of wondering, as if he was having a question fest _in there_ every time he sees her. Dana could understand the last part. If she had amnesia, she would be questioning herself about anything. But the biggest difference between the Alex back then and the amnesiac Alex could be seen when they're pissed.

When jackass Alex gets mad, he would be fuming and snarly, glaring at everything as if they had offended him. Mostly he would be refusing to talk, but when he does, his snappish voice would make others feel like they were his bitch, like they've done something wrong and he was simply snapping at them for it. The amnesiac Alex was different. His voice turned growly and low, his eyes would narrow with his face hardened into a steely… determined look. He looked like a guy ready to punch the insulter right in the face. But the amazing fact is that he was acting like how…_anyone_ would with the way he was struggling to reel in his anger.

"He can be any of them," Greene whispered meaninglessly as she gazed emptily.

Dana sighed. What a great imagination she had—a grating one, she noted, quite disturbed as she heard the wailings in the background and shuddered in revulsion.

"He was an ideal son. Strong, keen in the mind, but he was not born with our voice in him. We rejected him at first. We thought he was _one of them_. Turned against us," the voices continued murmuring. "But he was more like us than not. We learned too late. Too late to heal what should have never been done," Greene whispered sadly before turning her gaze on Dana. "So we took _her_," Greene said and smiled contently.

Dana was still confused, not getting this son and plural term business.

"We wanted to know why he goes to her and not us," Greene murmured softly in wonder. "We thought she was his _family_. But we were wrong. She was clean. Unmarked." There was amazement in her voices. "So we gave her our touch unlike any we have ever given to our children. To know what she holds in her that made him stay by her side. To make her us. To make _you_ his."

Dana eyes widen at this revelation. "His? Son… Alex? W-wh-what?," she whispered, confused and immediately backed away only to realize the wailings were all around her, too close for comfort. She scanned desperately around and craned away when she felt the gentle lulling touch. Dana flinched back to what she thought was a red tentacle. Looking up to the red swirling dreamscape all around her, noticing finally the swirls were red tendrils in ever-shifting motion. The woman in front of her stood centre amidst its motion. She stared at Elizabeth Greene with revulsion and desperation.

"What do you want?!" she yelled at her. "What do you fucking want with me?!"

Greene pressed forward in answer. Dana tried to inch back but to her horror, she was trapped between hells, stuck there in the some sticky webbing of red slimy tendrils. She couldn't move at all. She was not in control. "We want you to see _the reason_." Hand reached out and covered her sight into darkness before the alien visions shined. _The reason_... wailings sang, covering the scream from ringing out the hive-mind.

* * *

Alex was blinded by the sudden onslaught of wailings. Distracted, he slammed into a building's side unprepared, crashing through a window. Alex quickly tucked his body into a ball so that he rolled on the landing. Cursing when he got up, he clasped his head. The wailings rose and sank rhythmically but like a stormy sea crashing against the wall. It flooded his mind that he couldn't think.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled loudly, immediately shoving his internal hive-mind over Redlight's.

Whispers cut off the wailings, muffling them. Alex sighed and began brushing off the glass shards caught in his clothes. He rather deals with the web of intrigues and memories of others than _that_. Why the hell did the hive-mind act up? He frowned. It was too much like the time when Greene was infiltrating the military. Consuming the infected carriers made him able to tune in her subtle whisperings that was subconsciously controlling the carrier. When consuming an infected, it was different. Greene wasn't exactly controlling the infected, but she was influencing them through the virus nature, and they didn't really have a full conscious.

When it comes to controlling a semi-infected, the infected carriers, he was sure their conscious mind require more… direct and delicate handling… which was why Alex focused on the infected carrier in order to tune in Greene's whispering… since Greene was at the heart, the mind, and that meant she knew where Dana was. But Greene was gone. Alex had made sure of that when he consumed her using his virus to rip hers and her body. So why?

The infected's behavior, Redlight's evolution, Dana's medical anomaly status, their stubbornness in existing… they all felt directed, as if their mother haven't left them, as if she was right behind them, keeping them from a total wipe-out. But she's gone! He reminded himself stubbornly, and that was pointing towards the heart where all the questions led. PARIAH. His silvery blue eyes squinted at that thought.

* * *

Alex strode through the white lit corridors. His mind swirling with questions and facts, going through them over and over again that he didn't see the person in front of him. The person cried aloud when bumped roughly. The sound immediately pulled him out of his mind with his immediate thought thinking an infected had walked in and someone had noticed it. Sounds of papers crashing on the floor with a quiet curse changed that thought. Alex sharply turned his gaze on the flustered form wearing a lab coat. She was crouched down beside his feet, picking up the dropped paper reports. Huffing his resignation, he crouched down beside her and began gathering files into easy pile.

"Thank you," the scientist said once she was eased up and handed her files back. The woman said nothing when she looked up too see it was a hooded man that helped her. "Uh, have I seen you before?" she asked and swept her loose hair behind her ear nervously.

Alex just stared. "No," he answered bluntly.

"Oh, well then… who are you?" the scientist gave him the 'look' that told him she was one of those 'must introduce'.

Not wanting to look _more_ out of place, he answered with, "Alex."

"Karen," the scientist smiled politely and offered her hand but quickly pulls it back when the files reports begin slipping. Alex's eyes were twitching at the name mentioned. "I would have shaken your hand but as you see here," the woman heaved the files pressed against her chest as a gesture, "I'm a bit busy," she smiled apologetically, not noticing the dark look on Alex's face.

"Karen…" he waited, knowing he needed something more to separate this entity with _that_ other one.

"Karen Archer," she finished. Her surname even rhymes… "I work on the research project that's to do with investigating animal's immune system," she elaborated then looked down to her wristwatch. "Uh, damn. I need to go, sorry!" The scientist's white lab coat fluttered after her.

Alex didn't watch her leave, but went off immediately to where Dana's room was. He marched up to the door. Careful not to bend the metal of the door's lever, he walked in, eyes immediately zone onto his sister before focusing on the familiar form at the corner. Ragland was there, more focused at the new charts and readings.

"Ragland," he called out.

The doctor looked up with a grimace on his face. "Uh, Alex. I need to inform you about something," Ragland said in his annoyingly calm voice.

Alex waited, knowing it must be important.

"The virus is spreading. So far replicating only." Ragland said.

He turned around towards the door, hiding the look of panic from the doctor before he steeled back to his neutral expression. He blinked, switching into infected vision in trade of his fine hearing. Looking back, he saw the laid body on the bed brightly lit with small spots of… yellow. The glow though was still dim. He switched back into normal vision and turned back to the doctor.

"You still can do something about it, right?" Alex stared at the doctor.

"That… I can't be so sure but I can give more time, which I need," Ragland answered. "I've already set her up with antiviral drugs."

Time… time… he can work with time…

"How long?" Alex demanded.

"Two or three weeks. Redlight is not truly aggressive in her." Ragland answered shortly.

He can work with that, and by the time he's done, he was sure the virus would turn back dormant indefinitely. "I need to go doctor," he finally got the words out… not liking one bit.

Ragland gazed at him calmly before turning towards Dana. "Pariah." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"All the answers go to that codename."

"You hope too much it does, Alex," the doctor noted grimly.

"Yes, but the boy is the only thing left in the puzzle," Alex growled, "and I intend to solve it." _then smash it._

"You'll be leaving her when she needs you the most."

"I know that!" Alex snapped then begins pacing back and forth before he stopped by his sister's side. He stared down at Dana, looking at her pale smooth face and yet so still. A sign she was soundly in deep slumber. "And I'm sorry for it," he said this quietly to her.

Ragland sighed behind him and saw this as the moment to take his leave. Alex heard the door behind clicked shut, thankful at the doctor's absence. He took the chair by the wall and brought it to bedside. Sitting down, the chair groaned. Maybe I am such a fat ass, he noted wryly on the fact of his critical mass state, his biomass density at its highest limits. He gazed at his sister's face, noticing in pain the feeding tube rigged in her nose. She had so many wires attached to her and it wasn't a pleasant sight. Alex wouldn't know what she would say to this if she finds herself in this situation. From the small moments he had with her, and the words and tone that came out of her mouth, he guess she would be grimacing then making some dry critical remarks on herself.

He didn't know why he has the urge to at least… care(?) when he was with her. Probably because she was the only thing stable…safe during the time of his confusion, and later, something trustworthy. She was the epitome of his sanity when all he knew was destruction, death, and being the hunted and the hunter. Like many things that always force him to ask himself, Dana had been the only one that made him asked, why? Why accept me? Why do I try to at least give a damn about you? Dana always put him in circle with himself, but he got use to it or started not to bother himself with silly questions like that. If he was feeling this way about her, he didn't need a why or an answer. Still it was more than just that. He just doesn't know how to put it exactly.

At first, it had been because 'she's my sister' but later, it'd changed. During and after learning the revelation about himself, he'd questioned himself many times as to why he should still care, should still give a damn about the world… about her. She's one of the many reasons and the most important as to why he didn't fuck the world whenever humanity decided to show its ugly side—like how her brother did, Alex furrowed his brow at the reminder. She's the tough net that stopped himself from falling to his viral nature, from being reduce into a creature of design. Every time those dark ugly thoughts came into his mind, _she_ ended up knocking _those_ over. Her face would always appear with… the horror in her eyes. It had stick hard into his mind when he'd told her what he did, what he _does_, what was his nature.

Before _that_ moment, he'd been happily killing anyone and destroying everything, everything. He'd told himself repeatedly before that he was _supposed to do these things_, the killings, the destroying, all in the name of _hunting_…the answers and the guilty, and _that it's right... I can feel it._ He realized later it's because of his viral nature that made him feel this way. But the feeling was nothing compared to _that_ moment when she had acceptance in her eyes, and the words… _Look, no matter what, you're still my brother._ If she could accept a brother who kills, who holds voices in him, who… consumes, maybe… just maybe she could accept that he's a sentient virus who cares for her… and not that monster of a brother. But who was he kidding. That was like another hard phone to digest—wait. That was wrong. That was like another hard pill to digest, and it wasn't just one big one. Learning that her brother fucked the world in his last moment, that he'd done something that _low_, and that a virus had taken his identity, his body, the baggage of his life? That's a lot of pills to swallow there.

_You should distant yourself from her. She wouldn't want to be near you if she learns the truth. Take this leave as a way to start cutting your ties. Besides, you're not her brother anyway._ The thought niggled. But… he didn't want to. He didn't want to leave her. He didn't want her to leave him in any way possible, through truth or death. He just… didn't want to. _But I have to. Pariah, remember._ With that in thought, he gently took his sister's hand, careful on his strength when he covered hers with his. He turned to gaze at her face. Memories of farewell from the marines to their family crept into his thought.

"I'll be leaving for a while," he said hesitantly to her, looking down at her hand in his hold then back at her. "But I'll be coming back. Soon, I promise."


	5. The Reason, The Future, The Inevitable

**The Reason, The Future, The Inevitable**

* * *

Finding Pariah is not going to be easy. But he has General Randall's memories in him and other Blackwatch in him. What he also haves is the hive-mind. He can use both to assume where Greene's child is. Still, it's going to be difficult. For one thing, he was sure something like Pariah would be kept safe under a number of securities and far from harming anything or anyone, especially Blackwatch's headquarter. It's definitely a research facility/military base dedicated only to him. And not just any base or facility, but a well established one designed specifically to keep things from coming out. Assuming they don't transfer around the boy that is… and in the same country—let's hope Blackwatch is a patriot and is paranoid on other countries butting in, he thought.

The numbers of Blackwatch's memories would be good on narrowing down the areas with military base that's "high security and under the radar". Redlight's hive-mind could be like—what they call—a dowsing rod, but from the memories of many, Alex must be within the area where water—boy is nearby to make it effective. Redlight's hive-mind could also be a compass that will tug him towards the general direction where the boy is, but it's not going to point where the boy is on earth.

There's a lot of could and assumption and hoping in this, Alex's face darkened as he gaze into the horizon. But he has only this to work on. His search has to be thorough or else he will miss something important, and Alex needs all the clues he can get. But being thorough means being slow, and that takes time, and time is limited. He scowled, remembering Dana's state. The antiviral drugs would slow down the virus, stunts its growth but he was sure it'll mutate to overcome that. Alex was sure he has days left instead of weeks. Still… it's taking its sweet time. Why? He shook his head of these thoughts. Just get cracking.

So he shut his eyes and immediately delve into the depth of his mind. Randall's memories surfaced and niggled at the back when he firmly gripped onto it. Time to think like that old man, he thought crossly and took out the touch screen phone he kept in his biomass. Better than those huge paper maps, he rolled his eyes when he browsed through the phone. He built the virtual workings of this piece of crap. He even worked on the software and the programs in it. 2008 smartphones are not really smart at all, so he'd improved it with the help from the few numbers of random genius that's not Gentek's scientists. Still, he classed the genius as idiots since they didn't get out of Manhattan at first sign of the Outbreak.

Alex opened the virtual detailed map of US he'd painstakingly downloaded, knowing that in the rural area there's a chance it won't have signal, even though he rigged this shit onto satellite communication. The map took a big chunk in the drive but fuck that. He didn't care if it's chunky or not, as long it works fast that's fine. And it better work fast… he glared at the loading bar blinked at 98%. _I worked on you to work fast, so work fast_, he squinted at the phone. It zipped to a hundred and the screen displayed the area he was in. He scrolled out, immediately going to Maryland and zoom onto Ft. Detrick before zooming out to skim the area around it. Scanning the names of roads and town, he waited for Randall's memories to flash in recognition on those names. No such luck. Doing a thorough search on the memories would take time, and memories are not like the internet where one could type up and links automatically lead to answers.

Alex has to _relive_ the memories. He can't jump into the middle straightaway unless the memories _flash_ him the part where it concerns. But even that hurts. If not, he has to start from the beginning and zip through it. Sort of like watching a movie in seconds while trying to pick out a certain scene. That was a fucking headache since he's actually reliving the life of his victim. He's actually _wearing_ their mind, hearing their _thoughts_ as if they were his while trying to keep his conscious separate from immersing into it. Alex though has_something_ to anchor him back out. He can't describe what was pulling him back.

It was like a mental anchor, a tug of a link that's similar to the connection that made a hive-mind. The flashes that always happen before and after viewing his victim's life, is a way to pull him out of it. It's a way to remind him that _this_ _is_ his memories, and not _that_. It's why it hurts him when the memories swallow him up… even when it's just a _flash_. The feeling of getting pulled by two lives, by his and theirs… he doesn't know if he'll ever get use to it.

Reluctantly, Alex submerged into the web of intrigue, letting it pull him towards where it mostly matters.

_"...Subject PARIAH_…" A male voice, different, not Randall's. Nathan McKnight, was it? _"_…_removed to clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 8/1/69 as main test subject for Project CRUSADE...Subject exhibits unusual biological activity. Responsible for five deaths in thirty four years of captivity...Unlike MOTHER, PARIAH exhibits no physical symptoms of BLACKLIGHT infections..."_

Silvery blue eyes immediately snapped open. Vandenberg Air Force, hm? He looked down to his phone and scrolled from Ft. Detrick. That's in Lompoc, California, on the fucking other side of the States! He gritted his teeth. But the important point is that the boy has been there for 34 years since Hope. That means he's likely to be there even now. From quick calculation, it takes almost two days if one travels an average speed of a car. But Alex is faster than a car. He can also keep sprinting in full speed longer than it takes a car to finish its fuel. He also doesn't need to keep on the main road. He's not bound by path. He makes his own, which is fine since he needs to avoid main roads. Alex needs to maintain low profile, so there's going to be detours with all that avoidance. It'll take time, but not _that_ much.

* * *

Night time… the stars were out but dim against the piercing white light the military base emanates. During the time he was in the rural area, Alex had found out how beautiful the night sky are when they weren't outshined by city lights. He could see the Milky Way and pick out the constellations thanks to the memories he'd taken. It made him felt like an insignificant speck beneath the glittering stars that brushed the black vast canvas. Away from all that is man, he'd contemplated about his future living in the wild areas when he wasn't worrying about Dana.

It's not like he's going to be hippy boy, going straight back into stone age. No, he would probably be more like a wondering _ranger_. His nature is like of a hunter, and a hunter stake out his territory, and that's what rangers do, don't they? They keep a watch out on the creatures within area, make sure there's no sudden upset in the ecology, research and control the numbers of population. Alex could do that. There's perfect amount of work for his intellect and gives him the running space he needs, and it will keep him from going mad out of boredom.

It'll be quiet though. No explosion, no destruction, no chaos… no challenge, the thought whispered. Just more like following the flow of nature… going semi-dormant. I can't always be fully active, another thought replied. And it's not always destruction. If that had been the case, nature would have screwed itself long time ago.

Dana would like the quietness and spaciousness after Manhattan, he'd thought. Besides, she's a journalist. Perhaps when she's tired of handling issues idiotic mankind always repeat, she can go and focus on nature. He would even happily help her if the times come when she decided to camp out. Just to observe and write out an article about some animal. Alex had made a face when the definition of 'camp in the wilderness' flashed. Okay, maybe Dana would find some aspect hard. She's more into being an indoor person, judging from the pale face and the lack of callous on her skin, and that she didn't sound a single complain from staying indoors for more than just a week during the outbreak. Yes, she's really an indoor person.

Those thoughts and contemplation was a brief respite from the serious business, but after that short thinking from a five-minute break, Alex went on with his journey, sprinting non-stop for hours. Mostly the scene was dull and bland since the countries are flat with everywhere being a hot desolate desert. The heat had made his biomass throbbed with his black tendrils almost wanting to… laze, unwind like some slop… it made him want to lie down and bake in the sun lazily, not because he was tired, but because it was so… nice. But he kept going. Alex thankfully has a good navigation system in his head what with no landmark to note around him, and having remembered the map, not to mention Redlight's hive-mind kept him on track.

Somewhere in the darker quiet parts of the hive-mind, where the wailings actually avoid, Alex was sure there was a link… a link that definitely ties to Pariah. He didn't ponder about why that particular part of the hive-mind is silent, deathly silent—his thought had added. But he was pretty sure about one thing, the wailings feared that part of the hive-mind. They avoid it. Alex knew this simply because the infected cling onto him when he tried to connect with that link.

They _cling_ and cried out in fear as they pulled him back. That confused him. Why did they do that? But he couldn't delve onto pondering. Still. He found the link. He didn't probe into it, but he can _sense_ it. It wasn't tugging like all the other connection, more like a pulsing string, and this mental string was actually giving him the sense of direction towards Lompoc… where Vandenberg Air Force is, where he is now.

Alex was thinking of his options as he watched from the distant, hidden amongst bushes. Destroy the base and everything that gets in the way? A direct result. Quicker too. But it'll waste all the work he put into making his enemy doubt his status. Plus if he revealed himself outside New York, Dana would be open to the consequences. If Blackwatch found out they were fooled, they will try to use whatever means to stop him, including Dana.

So infiltrate it? It'll take time. Painstakingly he will have to work out who has the highest rank, who has the greatest access and clearance. Basically, he has to find out who's who. Alex could consume a random soldier, but that doesn't give him clearance to see Pariah without suspicion. Eating his way up the hierarchy would attract unwanted attention, because consuming means the soldier would vanish from the face of the earth once Alex is done with it. Besides, Pariah isn't an animal kept in a zoo so others could look at him.

He was sure someone's bound to notice a number of missing superiors, and that's just revealing himself. He has to nab a high ranked officer with minimum consuming and that means limited amount of knowledge, little to work with on who has the clearance. But the good side is once he's done with this place, Alex hoped the military would blame on Pariah about the missing 'personnel' when they found out the boy is gone.

Investigating… Alex sighed. Not to mention, the place must be rigged with cameras. If he's going to have a chat with Pariah without breaking his cover, he needs to turn the whole place off… and make sure there's no backup emergency generator… nor have any communication line open in case of staff contacting the airbase. He'll need to trap everyone in there.

Pariah's research facility is separate from the main operation. It was secluded, miles out from the airbase. In fact it didn't look like 'high security'. It wasn't surrounded with any tanks, or patrolling jets or has any established perimeters. Even Manhattan has more armored personnel than this! It was just a plain building with a parking lot around it so at least it fits the bill of being 'under the radar'. He still wondered about the lack of security. Aren't they afraid of Pariah deciding to infect the world? Or is this appearance was to fool anyone who pass by. No matter, he'll find out himself. Alex tilted his head as he thought about another way to infiltrate. A scientist with research access would have the most likely clearance. Plus a scientist can disappear.

Alex's blue eyes narrowed on that thought. Well, time to scout the area. He shifted his mass, black tendrils rearranging themselves as they swarmed his figure, reshaping themselves into a… coyote. Alex was able to acquire the DNA of one when a small pack had attacked him. Of course, he ended up winning in the end and he got a snack out of it… if one calls a pack of coyote a snack that is.

* * *

It was morning and same old procedure. The scientist sighed as he got into the army's standard humvee. Paperworks, checkup, and the tedious hours of observing the subject's nature. He's been doing the same thing for years, and the virus they took sample off… mostly it didn't react the way they thought it would. It didn't behave the way they wanted. It didn't _react_ at all. It was like the virus was… dead. At first they thought it was because it had an unusual period of incubation, but that's not the case. Days past, then into months, even years. The virus they put into the chimps didn't replicate, didn't altered any cells at all. It just sat in there.

Having injected the chimp to shut off its immune system from reacting against the virus, and putting it into a comatose state, they had placed it in the clean room so that it wasn't contaminated by other _sources_. The chimp had been comatose for five years now, and still no change—same with the subject. It hadn't aged or changed its mannerism. It was still stuck in the appearance of six years old boy, a six years old boy with autism.

Honestly, the job is quiet, a good pay too, has annoying procedures and number of terms and conditions but that's fine. Still, he hoped for a breakthrough but none happened, and none will—he sighed as he sat in the humvee. They were only a staff of six. What they do is take note on everything about the subject. Such as what he did during the activity; how he reacted to the same old tests; how much he weighted—and jeez, the boy was heavy. Far too heavy to be a kid. It was… boring. It was like they were babysitting. And he was sure, the boy too was bored himself. Still, what kept him interested was that boy is expressing unusual biology. Nothing makes sense. The drugs they injected, the serums, basically anything they hoped to make the boy react… does nothing. Dosages were increased to the point it would kill a human, but the subject didn't bat an eye at all to what he was given.

The boy gave no sign of being whoozy, or hurt, or affected. He acted like he never was injected in the first place. Such resiliency… the scientist wanted to test the limits but he heard stories of what had happened to those who dares. Death. Five deaths. The first, it was said that the boy's handler pushed him too hard during the physical aptitude test. They wanted to know how fast, how strong, what he could do, what they hoped the boy would do. That was like what… thirty years ago, and the scientist was sure the story was exaggerated, but the handler died with a horrible death. Something to do with the guy pulling his own guts out and stabbing his eyes with his own fingers. He didn't how the boy did it when anyone who's within ten feet wore a full quarantine suit, so anything that came off the boy doesn't really make contact with _them_.

The scientist shivered at the thought. Better get to the base, he thought and started the engine. He drove out of the driveway and immediately went out from the base, having to wave his pass at the gates. There are miles separating the main operation base from the one they work in. So the trip would take almost two hours. He turned the radio on in full blast, getting a country western song. He tapped his fingers to the beat as he rode on the empty winding gravel road. Temperature rose as the sun brightened on its rise. He let the heat lull him, liking the California's sun. He couldn't understand how the heat agitated others. Sure it's hot in midday but… he's mostly inside and underground during the hot hours of the day.

THUMP!

Left feet immediately slammed on the brake. The humvee skidded to a stop. What the hell? He unclipped his seat belt and rolled down his window. Craning his head out, he looked behind and saw something black disappeared behind his humvee, out of his view. He frowned, opening his door and stepping out on the gravel beaten road. He walked out to the front then look at the huge dent on the bottom of the humvee's front. Road kill? But that was a pretty heavy thump though and it dented the army's humvee. Hm, he wondered. What could have done that? He went to the back hoping to see the answer but saw nothing at all on the dusty yellow gravel road.

No blood, no smear, just skid mark… wait. He inched forward, staring at the skid mark on the yellow dusty gravel. Small, must be some animal… he eyed the paw prints coming out from the incoherent skid. He followed the tracks, not realizing he was walking to the other side of his vehicle. How could animal survive after being crashed? And look, its footstep doesn't seem to show sign it had broken bones or anything. The scientist stared when a shoe imprint came in when it should have been its right front paw. Okay, a human's shoe imprint in the middle of nowhere? He blinked, didn't notice from the humvee's reflection, a hooded man was standing behind him. Warm hand suddenly clamped around his mouth, cutting off his remark. Thoughts drained away when the hand jerked with an awful sensation cracking the inside of his neck.

* * *

Alex step into the mass of swarming tendrils, having injected his virus just as he twisted the man's neck. He brushed off the man's thought, not wanting to relive the memories. But perhaps it would be best if he wanted to _be_ the scientist. He closed his eyes and balked when he delved into the memories.

_"...Subject PARIAH. Shown no sign of having been affected at the oxytocin...why the hell are we testing oxytocin on the boy? The boy doesn't responds to the hormonal drugs at all."_

_"We're trying to change his behavior."_

_"...The boy has autism."_ Alex saw the image flashed of six year old boy drawing circles on every surface. _"...We know it. The reports from Idaho, all the children showed defects...He may have no defect on the outside, but I tell you this, I think the virus failed at making his brain worked."_

_"How did you get those reports? You get in shit trouble if you rifle into the past."_ Files flashed, the words CARNIVAL II imprint in one of those.

_"...I've been working here for ten years. I should know the history on what I'm working on, shouldn't I?..."_ A boy drawing intricate pictures, all filled with details that would make an artist envy at the same time disturbed. They were pictures of the dead.

_"Then you've seen the intelligent test result. The boy's smart. Extremely smart..." _A run down of readings and scrawling of some kid's writing flickered into his mind _"...He may not talk. He may not act. But he can write those answers down within seconds as if he knows it. And the thing is, we taught him nothing at all. He knew the answers!"_

_"...They taught him alphabets and numbers. They tried to make the boy a perfect Blackwatch. I wouldn't be surprise he knew the answers, and remember he's well past his thirty. He's even older than you!..."_

Having staked out the base for three days, remembering every face that goes in and out, Alex had noted this particular man in his forty. He thought the guy was in charge since he seems the one moving in and out the base a lot. He realized the man was simply a courier. He files in the reports from the team of scientists in charge of the boy. He's also the one who reports on any funny business that happened amongst his colleagues. A backstabbing son of a bitch, Alex mused as he walked to the driver's seat. Sliding in, he shut the door and stared at the wheel then looked up at the humvee's ceiling. So low… his blue eyes narrowed crossly on it before they gazed onto the steering wheel… the humvee is not really roomy at all.

He felt like the space was closing in and he started to fidget in answer. I can drive, he thought slowly as he gently clasped the wheel, not wanting to crush it. Okay… gears, his right hand went to the space between the two front seats, where the gear stick is. An army's humvee is different than a normal one. For one thing, it has more _stuff_ in it. Alex sighed. C'mon, just get your head wrap into it. His feet press down the engine's pedal and the humvee surged forward. This…isn't… too bad at all, he thought as he drove it naturally while the country's music blared out. At least it's not like a tank or a helicopter that requires more than two men crew.

* * *

The sound of scribbling on paper was the only thing that disturbed the silence. Small fingers worked in a blur as they kept hold on the red pencil. It was the only thing he has besides the small rubber ball. Light switched off above him, cutting of any source of visual on his drawing. Darkness was his only companion now but the scribbling noise went out. He wasn't bothered by the lack of light at all and it didn't stop him. Seconds, minutes, moments… the scribbling went out. The scratching of pencil on paper unhindered but it stopped when he heard the door of his room swished open. A lone tapping of footsteps greeted his keen ears… with the sound of something dripping. The smell wafted to his nose. He knew this smell. It was blood. He slowly placed his pencil on the floor and sat up when his visitor grew closer.

"Hello brother," he said slowly, stopping the sound of footsteps. It was actually the first time he ever spoken and he found the use of the mouth strange.

"Pariah," a low gravel male voice greeted neutrally.

He kept his gaze on the floor, staring at his drawing in the dark. "I suppose you're here for answers."

"I'm here to stop you."

His ears sharply tuned on the strange sound behind him but it disappeared into a sound of sharp metal ringing in the air. "Stop what?" he asked.

_You_, he heard his thought clearly out all the noises that filled his head. He smiled at this. His brother has a very large mind, large enough to muffle the world it seems.

"Don't you want to know the answer, Zeus?" He turned around. _'Do you even know the truth at all_.' He chimed this clearly through the link.

"What the hell…what's happening…to me."

* * *

Alex couldn't control his arms. His tendrils are squirming, refusing to form into a blade or claws. He stared down at his hand. It was just a wave of black tendrils in constant motion of forming and unforming. It even refused to rise at his command. Stubbornly sticking to his side, impossibly heavy and stiff… locked in its place. He clenched his teeth and surged to move forward. Or he tried to, and find that even his feet stayed lock stiff.

_'You're not strong in here_._'_ A voice chided inside his head. This voice. It was different than Greene. When she spoke, he could hear her even in his head, creating an echo when both her voices overlap. The boy, her son, the mental voice didn't match with the slurry young voice he put on just now. In fact, the mental voice has a deeper tone. An _older_voice.

_'…Stubborn…'_ Alex tried to push this invisible hold that was keeping in his place._ '…Very stubborn. But you are my brother after all. My _real_ brother… not just some _family_. Funny, how a human was able to engineer a virus like mine without even knowing he was duplicating a key to making a lifeform such as me. Pure sheer stroke of luck… but I'm not surprised.'_

The sentient virus growled. The small white form that had seated itself in the centre of the room got up. Small bare feet could be heard slapping against the white floor. He could see Pariah perfectly in the dark, and from the way the child immediately know where he was, Pariah could also see him. The boy stopped two feet before him. His round face gazing up to him with a lifted chin and glinting eyes. Light snapped on over their head, revealing a sandy haired boy.

"What the hell," Alex murmured when the glaring white light shone. He had shut the power off so that the cameras don't pick him out during the confrontation. Obviously that didn't work. Shit, Dana.

Pariah just blinked at this. "Don't worry. I control this base and the staff here. After all, I haven't been lazing about doing nothing at all with all the time they give to me. This is my home. And I intend to be in charge of it." The boy flashed a winning smile at Alex then glanced at the cameras rigged on all the four corners of the room. "They see what I let them see," he told him. "I can even control them to delete what happens here. Plus with the powers off just now, it'll take time for wireless feed to set up again. Military's firewall and all."

"You infected them," Alex said, quite surprised. He'd checked with infected vision and all came normal except for the weird glow around their head.

"Yes. Sort of. A bit," the boy said sheepishly and tilted his head. "Made sure of it. The virus though stays in the brain area and not in their body. Fooled them into thinking them clean when they took their blood test. Plus the scanners see only brain activity up there so it doesn't pick up."

Alex stared, noticing the smirk on the edge of the boy's lip. Pariah looked up to return his gaze.

"You're wondering what I'm going to do with you since you're stuck, right?" Again, that knowing smirk widen and Alex just bared his teeth in annoyance. Pariah just looked at him incredulously for that. "Look at us, arguing like some sibling," he shook his head in disgust. "Great reunion we're having," the boy muttered when he turned around with his back on Alex.

Alex opened his mouth in surprise when he stumbled forward, his body free to move. He raised his hand but it stubbornly stick to its human form. So he's still unable to shapeshift. He furrowed his brow crossly then looked at the boy.

"I don't want to fight, Zeus," Pariah said as he sat back down to his usual spot before. "And I'm not the cause of your problems," the boy added as he lifted his red pencil.

_You're the only one capable of controlling Redlight_, he thought stubbornly before thinking of resorting to the messy way. Pariah looked up at that thought with his face stormy. Alex noted the boy's eye colors were changing. Green, blue, brown, black, purple, all the known eye colors swirling in the boy's eyes.

"Please stop those ugly thoughts," Pariah hissed this through clenched teeth. The boy was mad, obviously. "I had enough with _those_ from the _family_."

What happened next was something that still confused Alex later when he thought back on this. It felt like something heavy slapped hard across his face, almost knocking all his thoughts aside. He shook his head and clasped the side of his throbbing face. What the fuck just happened right there?!

_'Illusion. Similar to phantom pain,'_ Pariah answered this shortly. _'I'm just screwing around with your senses.'_ Alex heard a snicker echoed through the mental link. He realized how uncomfortably close Pariah's part of the hive-mind with his… it's almost overlapping. '_You're my brother. You're technically something like me. It wouldn't be surprise we're suddenly side by side in the hive-mind.'_

"I am not you," Alex said this softly.

"Yes, you're not," Pariah replied as he scribbled down his paper. "You have your own sentience, and there's _enough_ difference between us that stops the virus from making us into one organism."

Alex stared when he heard this.

"You should know, Zeus," Pariah said slowly, "Virus are beyond life and death."

Alex squinted on the six-year-old's words as he circled around the boy carefully, "what are you saying?" he murmured, searching for tricks.

Pariah just smiled. A smile that would have mistaken as sweet when seen on a boy's face, but this creature was no boy. Especially this one. "Sentience are a tool for survival to the virus but like tools, it can be discarded." He looked up and stared at Alex with eyes swirling in earthly colors. "You see, all it takes for the virus to do that is simply rearrange what makes us _us_ into something or _someone_ else. It's why we can even wear someone's head and act like them, think like them but what's stopping us from becoming _them_. What's stopping _you_ from being someone else, Zeus?" the boy said this curiously, as Alex glared. Playing mind game on him won't work. Pariah just rolled his eyes at his serious thought. "What I'm talking about is important. Here, I'll give you an example as to why." The boy looked up from his paper and stared at Alex.

Pain flashed, searing the inside of his head as the worst headache slammed. Alex howled and collapsed on the floor, writhing as numerous memories flashed then was ripped, tugged back from his conscious' tight grip.

_'Now you see why. Your mind is made of those memories, out of the other minds. You're technically sitting on it, letting it affect you, letting _them_ affect you. Believe me, I'm doing you a favor for doing this. Who knows how many monsters amongst the human you've consumed. They could suddenly spring back into life through _you_ and we can't have that.'_

Alex writhed as he clutched his head. His thoughts shaken from forming coherently until his anger slammed them into place. '_STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!'_

"Such a younger brother you are," Pariah chuckled and let go of Alex's mind.

Alex groaned on the floor then flop on his front like some fish. His visions rippled, unsteady as the ground rose up and down. Silvery blue eyes flashed and grew more silver as they looked up immediately and locked onto the boy. Without realizing what he was doing, Alex reached out through the link, his viral instinct taking control of him. As if his conscious was a mental claw, it wrung around the boy's conscious and slam it around against the mental walls of the hive-mind. Pariah gave a child's scream and hissed in pain to his triumph. The boy turned sharply at Alex and snarled. Without further a do, the boy launched physically at the sentient virus. It was like getting hit by a cannon ball shot of out thermobaric tank. The floor cracked as Alex skidded across it while the boy was suddenly on him with a mad look.

"You want to play a mind game, fine! I'll show you what I can do!" Pariah snarled, practically spitting on his face.

_How the hell did it end up into this?_ A quiet sensible thought manage to sound off before it was threw into scatter. A battle within the hive-mind was not something Alex could fully described in words. All it was are just pure sensation and instinctive movement that was throwing his opponent's _mind_…thought…presence(?). But what it certainly was is some kind of a mental wrestling, a wrestle between will. Alex suffered the pains of getting ripped to shreds, or burning in fire that was far hotter than he ever experienced.

Pariah was no better, having never had a opponent as stubborn and annoying as Alex. He made the boy feel all the kind of pains he went through. Getting hit by missiles from tanks and helicopters, tazered by electricity, squashed by collapsing building, slammed by some debris a hydra thrown, and oh yes, slapped by Greene, whacked by Greene, burnt by Greene, not to mention the pain of getting ones biomass ripped and splattered all over. Alex had to thank the hunters for that.

The boy lived a sheltered life, never having to experience the world, the pain of living in it, a disadvantage that threw the boy off. Alex had no experience with having a fight using his mind as a weapon, and that was a major disadvantage on him compare to what Pariah has. Pariah could twist the pain, the experiences he had back on him and was able to amplify it to the point of being intolerable for Alex. But the fact is, the boy could bring despair, made him _feel_ despair.

It squeezed his chest. It made him breathless. It made him dying. In the end, Alex was practically suffering the worst nightmare. Desperate as he tried to hold his mind together while pain tried to rip him apart, he focus on the physicality, on the boy's body sitting on his chest. Alex kept Pariah's conscious in the hive-mind while he got a hold on the boy's shirt collar then punched him. That successfully threw the boy's thought into scatter. Alex tried to beat the shit out of the boy but Pariah had wrung around a particular part in his mind, gripping him—his body into stilling. What happens next has no words to justify. The best he could describe it as a wave of only darkness and silence that slammed him unconscious.

* * *

Alex groaned, suffering the worst pounding headache he ever experienced. He blinked his blue eyes and stared crossly at the glaring florescent light. A sound of wrapping crackling tuned his ears into focus.

"Oh. You're awake." The slurry voice of a young boy greeted his ears. "I like to ramble but I'm just going to tell you. Thanks, Zeus." The voice said, snarling. "You made me destroy all the minds I infected from that mental blast I gave you. The whole base is dead now. Now the annoying people from outside is going to swarm in and think they can pick me apart." The young voice muttered. "There's nothing more annoying than scientists who think they can force me into anything. Might as well enjoy some snack they had in their pockets. Hmph."

He got up, sitting straight and turned around to see a six-years-old boy eating a chocolate bar. Pariah looked up and stared at him. "What?" the boy asked as he stared.

"You're not the one controlling Redlight," Alex said this slowly.

"Oh, learned something from the scrounging around my head, huh," the boy said mockingly then grew serious. "Of course not. There's no way I go near _that_ part of the hive-mind. I had enough noises in my head already," the boy scrunched his face in disgust.

"Why?" Alex demanded.

The boy looked up and stared at him. "You need to know my life to understand that, but…" the boy mused and looked at the drawing on the papers he was surrounded with. Alex noted they were drawings of the dying, of the dead, of corpses. The boy was practically drawing scenes of destruction and death. Corpses piling and gathered in a hole in the ground. Bodies burning. Bodies half-buried in mud. Hundreds filled each page. At first Alex thought it was scene from wars, but one drawing changed that thought. He stared at a drawing of a barrage with piles of bodies having tossed to create a heap. Red scribbles shaded across it. A reminisce of fire. Alex eyes stopped at the corner of drawing. One small doodle of a building at the corner froze his thought. That was the empire state and the statue of lady liberty in the horizon. Manhattan… He picked up this drawing and looked up to glare at Pariah.

"How do you know this?!" he hissed at the boy, shoving the drawing at Pariah.

Pariah stared at the drawing. "I dream of them. I see them every time I close my eyes." He waved at the drawings of death around him. "I can even hear them. Not just Redlight's," his voice turned quiet and Alex stared as the boy eyes looked into the distant. "I can hear the world, Zeus. It's annoying. It's loud. It's painful. Not just that, I can hear Redlight's annoying whisper of _the reason_. Do you know what the reason is, Zeus?" Pariah looked up at Alex and noticed the look on his face. "I'll show you," the boy said and clasped his small hand around Alex's.

A pull, like one he got when reliving a memory. Alex dived into a scene of horror. He was in middle of some tropical jungle but surrounded by blood that pooled at his ankle with the bodies of the dead all around him. It was also raining heavily.

"What the hell," he whispered at the scene around him.

_'I don't know what war it was but I guess it was somewhere on a foreign soil. Vietnam, I think.'_

The scene flickered, static as it shown in a red haze.

_'Watch.'_

So Alex watched. The scene tilted violently, shaking but focus on small figure that shuffled awkwardly out of the bushes. A woman, a villager, face horribly malformed as she walked out with other distorted figure behind her. These infected were slow, awkward, more zombie-like.

_'The first Runner, but I like to think Runners exist even before they were classed as Runner.'_

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" muffled static voices greeted him and the sound of distant gunfire burst.

Alex watched as bullets wheezed and punched into flesh, but it didn't stop them from moving. They just kept on going, reaching the trench the soldiers were in. Screaming came next.

"What is this?" Alex asked.

_The first Runner was of nature. The virus though wasn't perfect… but it interested _them_ enough. They manage to get a sample of the virus, then Blackwatch existed and work on this virus. Redlight then came to be. This is the memory of Redlight's predecessor._

"Why are you showing me this?" Alex demanded as the memories drifted away.

_'Wake up, Zeus. The first Runner is of _nature_. And do you want to know what that means? Viruses are the pinnacle of evolution. Our existence proves it.'_

"We were brought by men, not nature," Alex disagreed.

_'Yes, but as you know, virus are known for their irritating mutation. It takes time which nature has. Once in a while, something will come out of the ground and some poor human will breathe it.'_ Alex frowned… that's similar to what Redlight was doing at Central Park. Is that what happened at Two-Bluff? _'I can feel it. I can hear it, the whispers, the movements in the horizon. I don't know how, I don't know why I can hear it, but I know, I know the future.'_ Alex winced when the visions flashed. Image of nuclear explosions, of the dead in the ground, of the infected… the same images he'd seen when he'd consumed the Leader Hunter. _'This is a change. This is simply the next step and _they_ will resist with pain. More outbreaks will come. Not from us. But from something else, from others. And Redlight is simply acting because of it. The first to have a firm grip on the world has the first advantage, but the struggle will be on. Rule of nature. Rule of survival. Rule of dominion. Mother was simply infecting in order to stop that future from happening. She thought that if she could have the world first, she could stop the struggles that will happen.'_

"Greene is dead," Alex said this flatly.

_'_Redlight_ is not dead. As long her children dreams of their mother, she lives. You may have destroyed the main host body, but you didn't destroy the mind of Redlight._

"And what about you?" Alex snarled.

_'I'm not Redlight. And I'm just waiting. Plus whatever I do can do nothing to stop the future from happening. Nothing can stop nature from its working. Evolution will happen with the viruses leading it. And don't think I'm mad, Zeus. It's because of this that changed Blackwatch mandate. Randall was scared when one of my handlers blabbed about this when he was infected with my virus. He saw what I saw and he told. It made Randall brought a change to Blackwatch.'_

_"_…_We've been preparing for this for forty years…"_ Randall's voice drifted in.

"So you now know." Pariah's voice brought him back into the present. "Mother calls it the reason. I call it inevitable," the boy muttered.

"Greene is still alive," Alex said this quietly and he snarled. He came here for nothing!

"Greene is dead. Redlight took her mind just as it took the minds of all it infected. It strips the conscious until it's bare and joins it to become as one. It's basically consuming," Pariah replied nonchalantly.

"…Dana. Oh god, Dana," Alex whispered. "It's happening to her."

Pariah was quiet at this. "I'm trying to stop her, but I'm not Redlight."

Alex turned and shot a glare at Pariah. "What do you mean you're trying to stop her? Don't you want this?"

Pariah glared back at Alex. "You know you and I have more in common than not. But if you wish to know, I'm doing this in honor of Greene's memories." The boy sighed and again clasped his hand around Alex's.

_'When she still… exists… when she was still separate, I hear her voice when I was only young. She whispers me of stories, particular the Peter Pan's. My young mind sucked this greedily. You have to understand, I had no one. No one when I was young. I had nothing but only these… monsters.'_ Alex saw the silhouette figure of scientists and the dark uniforms of Blackwatch. _'They poke me.'_ Needles, injection._ 'Prod me.'_ Test, test. Physical, intelligence. Anything at all to measure what he was capable of._ 'Hit me.'_ The boy refuse, and they became testing how much he could endure._ 'I could withstand all of this. I knew I was strong. I knew what they did. I knew they were bad. I had Hope in my head to remind me of that. I had Hope to teach me._ Wailings rang out in answer. _Hope kept me from being _one of them_. It also made me stubborn. When I grew up, I realized why Hope and Greene tried to keep me from becoming _them_. Redlight wanted me as a _family_. To use me just like these humans.'_ Randall's image flashed. The old man must have checked up on him once in a while.

_'I refuse. I refuse every one of them. I refuse to become the monster that they were and I also refuse to become what Redlight hoped me to be. It's the only way I could have control and I relish at their frustration… funny, I'm like Peter Pan that way.'_ Pariah's thought were inhuman when he snickered at this. _'Greene disappeared, Hope too. Became Redlight. Tried to bother me. When the outbreak in Manhattan came, Redlight tried to make me act. The infected's mind clamored towards mine. I gave them death in answer_._'_Darkness and silence washed… so that's why there was a quiet part in the hive-mind, Alex thought. _'I crushed their ant-like minds into nothing but even that disgust me. I was exercising my powers that Redlight wanted me to use. But there's no moping about so I gave a warning to Redlight. I will use this power to crush and wound its mind. And my mother stayed away in answer.'_ Pariah's thought sounded smug at this._ 'Then _you_ woke up. I watched you in the distant. I learned what you learned. It helped me open my eyes a bit and also kept me from being bored while I'm waiting.'_

Alex glared at Pariah. He was not entertainment to be watched from far.

_'But I had others things to do. Like… scrounging Redlight's memories. I was able to look into its past… but not that far. Most of the time it was blank, but a glimmer I could see. I wouldn't be surprise if something like us happened in the past. Perhaps the monsters in legend and myth were due to some viruses twisting human.'_ Pariah pulled back his hand from Alex. "So what are you going to do, Alex?" the boy said his name.

There will be more outbreaks. So this is the future. This is the reason. The truth. And Dana. What of Dana, he thought about it. Learning Pariah was slowing Redlight growth in her body was already a lot to swallow. Alex's thought swirled in this new revelation. He had seen the memories, he had seen Pariah's mind, and one can't lie when it comes to the mind.

"You should know this. The longer the virus incubates, the more likely it's trying to perfect its host," Pariah told him this. "Me slowing it down is just helping it along," the boy grumbled and bit into his chocolate bar. Alex wondered if all the contents the boy had taken into him throughout his captive years are still in him. Memories told him the boy was heavy, very heavy but not as much as him. "There's not much I can do from the distant." Pariah shrugged but looked at Alex. "The answers are already there. It will be clear on what you have to do," he told him.

* * *

"I won't expect any trouble from you, will I?" Alex asked at the six-year-old boy standing outside, beside him.

Pariah just stared at him.

"Will I?" Alex growled gratingly.

Silence.

A sigh escaped the sentient virus. "I'll take that as a yes and knowing you, it'll be unlikely." Alex admitted this reluctantly.

"You know you wouldn't be able to understand about me if it weren't for the hive-mind," Pariah told him this. "Imagine that Alex. The hive-mind spread all over the world. Everyone would understand, everyone would know, everyone one has the experience, the knowledge. A world where if one hurts, all hurts. It's a tempting motivation if I decided to infect."

Alex glared at the boy for that. Pariah only wore white. White slacks and white long sleeve shirt. He looked like some kid from a mental ward. "No outbreaks," he said this flatly at the boy.

"No outbreaks," the boy promised, surprising him yet again. But words are words… still. "Besides, I told you. I'm waiting. And if I wanted to infect the world, I would have done it when I had Blackwatch and military nitpricks attention. But I didn't… for like thirty years."

"_Forty_ years."

Pariah shrugged. "Go, brother. You're wasting time talking to me here."

Alex stared at the boy once more then turned to the bushy terrain surrounding the base. He searched for east and immediately burst into sprint. He'll worry about Pariah later. Besides, the boy is formidable and Alex wasn't sure he was ready to face that boy again after the brief tussle they had. He still could feel the pounding headache thanks to that tussle. As he journeyed back to New York, Alex thought of the newfound answers. New York was doomed the moment Redlight touched it. Pariah had told him this. The boy also told him he should have let it burn. He wondered about how much truth there was in it. He wondered for reasons for the boy to lie and found none. The world was doomed. _Viruses are the pinnacle of evolution_. This is where nature was heading. This is where evolution was heading. _The next step_. And Dana… Dana, Alex thought softly.

He could stop Redlight, he could kill it… but to do so he has to kill Dana… and if he didn't, Redlight would live on through her. New York would face a new mother and Redlight would continue to fester. Or… there was another way. He could infect instead. Make Blacklight destroy Redlight, perhaps even mutate so that it no longer was Redlight anymore but…something else. While at it perhaps he would give New York a chance, help it get a foothold against the coming flood. That would make New York prepared for the future. But no, Alex was disgusted. He was disgusted at all the options. Destroy Redlight, destroy Dana, and that left New York ravaged, broken. And then what?

The Outbreak proved the world is not ready no matter how much Blackwatch there is. The world has no chance to what was coming. And if he took that path, he's just not changing anything… and he will lose Dana. If he took the other path, he will be giving the world a chance. Dana a chance… No, Alex shook his head as he sprint across the forest. No. He didn't like these options. He didn't like any of them. It was making him break every promise he made to himself. In one path, he failed to protect. In another, he feared he fail at stopping himself from becoming something like Greene, something like Alex J Mercer. There's no doubt about it. If the real Alex J Mercer woke up in the morgue, that man would've easily succumbed to the virus nature, to the power he holds.

* * *

Greene showed her the reason. She showed her the lives of the past and the present. She showed her how the virus sees the world. She showed the future, and Dana saw it all, felt it all. The pain, the happiness, the life and death, and it was picking her mind apart. Dana clasped for something secure to stop herself from sinking to the lives she's experiencing. She didn't realize she was clasping onto Greene…

"This is the reason," Greene told her.

"This is the reason," Dana whispered this in horror. "Tell me this isn't true. Tell me this isn't true," she sobbed.

Death, pain, so much pain. The people, the children, families, humans, the life on earth will be forever changed.

"We try to make our children stronger." Greene whispered as Dana held onto her like how a child would hold onto her mother. Redlight smiled at this, knowing this child was finally seeing, was finally _understanding_… Dana though was strong. Real strong. It's why she still had her own mind. She's the perfect daughter.

* * *

**You know what, Pariah sudden babble of his life… well he's more passing down his memories and thoughts… seems so sudden now. Why spill the beans, Pariah?**


	6. Memories Defines Us

**Memories Defines Us, Part One**

* * *

New York emerged from the distant with all its city lights shining… except for Manhattan. The foreboding red glow still smothers it. Cold November wind whipped sharply against the side of his face, ruffling his heavy hood a bit. A vibration thrummed somewhere in his chest and Alex made a face as he searched his biomass, pulling out his phone. Ragland's photo was displayed on the screen. Tapping on it as softly as he could manage, he brought the phone against his ears.

"Finally. I've been trying to reach you," the doctor voice said briskly.

"What is it?" Alex frowned.

"Central Park. Reports on the infected microbes." Ah yes. White dome containment tents that now covered the park. "The infected attack it when you were away. Destroyed the containment and now the microbes has spread all over the city. Blackwatch is now stationed everywhere."

Fuck. Now everyone is _potentially_ infected. Strangely, Alex's eyes weren't twitching at all. Redlight must be beyond than just 'pissed at' category.

"BioTech and other companies are working on this but I say we're fighting fire with fire," Ragland told him. "Those microbes are carriers of Redlight virus. If the other companies release their own brand of parasites, Redlight is just going to be transferred into them. In the meantime BloodTox are being released into the air but with the weather, I can't be sure exactly where the next trouble will come."

BloodTox won't be effective for long. If Alex can grow resilient against it, so could all those billions and billions of infected microbes. "I understand doctor. I know this. I guess you're also trying to convince Koenig from going to that direction for that then," he said.

"There's more."

"Go on," Alex said patiently.

"An old company is back up, GenTek."

It took every sheer ounce of will from squeezing the phone into pieces. GenTek being up and about again means one thing, Blackwatch. And if GenTek is up, their sight might be on Dana.

"You said Rooks was a sensible man," Alex growled.

"He is as close you can get for a Blackwatch. In short, he does what's necessary but he can be a complete blindeye when he wants to. Blackwatch higher-ups must have intervened and the numbers of GenTek's projects are practically their dirty little secrets. I'm guessing blackmail, but it might be the fact Gentek being the most experience and most knowledgeable about the virus that changed the status quo."

Dana will soon be surrounded with Gentek scientists if that's the case, he grounded his teeth together at that thought.

_'Zeus.'_ The force awareness on the silence around that thought was a dead giveaway. It was a stark difference compare to Greene. Her voice was always surrounded with wailings and whispering when she spoke to his mind. _His_ was only surrounded by uncomfortable silence that always made him compare it with death.

Alex bristled at the realization. That thought was definitely not his. _'Pariah_,_'_ he scolded.

_'Redlight is acting and I think I know why. You're lucky you have me holding it back because by now, Redlight would have found its new host.'_

"Ragland, does the recent report shown any altered cells in Dana's system?" Alex asked briskly, wanting a confirming fact.

"She's safe for now. The virus is only replicating inside her. The only thing to worry about is how much blood supplies she's getting."

As for the last part, Alex has to trust companies like BioTech holds good supply of blood. But the replicating part… It's spreading. Alex guessed it was getting in position that way it saves the pain when it comes to infecting later. In a way, the infected microbes are following similar patterns.

"I leave the city all by itself and come back with housecleaning," Alex said this darkly. "How about the cure?" he asked the doctor.

"Alex, you've been gone for almost a week. A cure is not going to be pop up _that_ soon or that simple since Redlight mutates a new strain from the number of replication. If I am to build a cure, I will need to focus on boosting her immune system instead of focusing on a vaccine." The doctor grunted.

He's doing his best, his thought reminded him. "I'll be coming doctor," he told him this before shutting the call. The pesky infected, asshole Blackwatch, and cocky Gentek. How many times does he have to stomp on them just so they keep their heads down. Silvery blue eyes narrowed at the thought as they swirl temporarily into silver.

_'Just out of curiosity. How did you confirm Redlight's active state in her?'_ Pariah's thought chimed.

_'Infected vision_,_'_ Alex answered briskly. '_Why?'_

_'Hmmm… the infections… where were they exactly concentrated. Just show me the memories.'_

Alex easily did that. Dana's laying form with soft yellow blobs glowing and spotting all over her body… It was one of the images that deeply engraved his mind.

_'The infection is focus on her head, probably the dream part of the brain… and the long-term memories.'_ The image focused on the soft glow that emanated around Dana's head._'Redlight is most likely talking to her.'_ Pariah's thought commented on this grimly. _'Its active state is probably due to the girl being ready.' _Alex frowned. _'Prepare your mind, Zeus. Mother might have bend the poor girl's mind to her use. If you want to turn the effects she's done to your side, you're going to put yourself in great risk.'_

_'What exactly is the risk?'_ Alex thought crossly.

_'You're young. Inexperience. Plus your mind is made of other minds. You take the memories _too_ personally. That's your greatest weakness. You define yourself from those. Mother can use this to fracture you if she touches those memories. She could even make you have amnesia all over again.'_ Alex frowned, not liking this._ 'Or she can even _reshape _you into an ideal son. She tried to do that to me once. It's what made me resist her more though. All she needs to do is have a strong mind and I guess the girl would be it. It must be why Redlight incubating is taking time.'_

_'Explain_,_'_ Alex demanded briskly.

_'Mother is not just preparing the girl to be just another carrier, she's going to make her an even more perfect host than Greene's body ever was. She just needs the girl's mind first, that's exactly how Greene became Redlight. With a strong mind, all she needs is something to throw you off… then your mind is open to influence and you'll lose.'_

_'Lose? What do you mean lose? And what are you trying to tell me here?'_ Alex snapped, getting impatient.

_'You want the girl's mind separate from Redlight, don't you? If you want to rid Redlight's influence… you have separate the host's mind from Redlight's and that means you have to separate memories. As I explain this to you now, Mother is probably showing her memories and overlapping it with the girl's. Soon it'll be one.'_

_'About the separating…'_

_'Remind the girl who she is and if she's strong enough, she can separate her sentience from mother's. Most of this depends on how far deep she is and how strong her mind is and also yours. Like I said before, you take things too personally and that's the risk. You have to immerse in the memories, and you have to keep your conscious intact while in them. You're technically pulling your mind apart for doing that.' _Alex furrowed his brow, knowing that feeling completely well. The tugs between his viral side and _them_ were always in his head.

_'You're also disconnecting the links between two different memories… something you've never done since you've only made _links_ with them. As for the consequence, if you fail at this… well, the next thing you know you're Redlight and not Zeus… actually if your mind fractured completely, the virus instinct will pull another sentient from fragments of you and your memories—which is a lot… and Redlight could highjack that instinct into making an ideal son out of you.'_ Pariah chuckled softly at this. _'Your virus close connection to hers makes it possible for her to do it… plus you'd consumed her. That's like establishing firm mental links between mother and son.'_

_'I take it you can't do this because you're already straining yourself.'_ Alex replied crossly at that last thought.

_'Yes. I'm a bit stretched and I'm doing this from a distant. Want to try it? No, I don't think so.'_ Pariah's thought retorted drily._ 'Redlight virus is supposedly to be under the command of its first sentient host… but that can be challenged if another sentient is superior enough… and has close ties. That would be me, or you but you're already have a lot to handle.'_

Alex frowned. _'Why are you doing this?'_

_'Boredom. Plus a challenge. Also I like mind game. I've been playing these games with mother for ages. I also like to win.' _Pariah replied smugly then turned back serious. _'Even if you win, it doesn't mean you rid the problem. Redlight virus will still exist within her body with its mind still intact… even if it'll be cracked. If you're going to put yourself through this, you might as well infect the girl… just so she has a strong rope… in case she's weak and goes falling back into Redlight's arm.'_ Alex hissed through his teeth at this.

_'But if you're just going to command self-destruct on Redlight—in which you kill the girl also, you still have to play this mind game. Mother can probably save the virus and even quicken the infection on the girl's body since the virus isn't really linked to the hive-mind. She'll be isolated in the girl but that would mean she controls the virus within the girl, and no one else can, still it depends on how strong her connection with the girl. This is why you still have to play the mind game if you're going with self-destruct… unless you want to go with the gory way.'_ Alex closed his eyes, trying to shut out the image of him beating Dana into a bloody pulp. He'd done that to Greene… and Dana was no Greene, he told himself grimly._ '…If not and you didn't infect, well you're just delaying and you can't play this mind game forever.'_

These choices!

_'Look. You control Blacklight virus. You're its first sentient mind, you're its first host… and that's nothing to brush off. _It's_ your hands and legs. You just need confidence in yourself and in your control over your virus. Use the virus to infect_…_'_ Alex really hated that word. It just reminds him too much about him being more like Greene. _'…_only_ the Redlight's virus. Also whatever damage Redlight has done physically to her brain… can't be undone. It can be heal with time, but the girl will forever carry the lingers of Redlight's mind. Unless you want to wipe out the experience, which you need to infect her to do that. _Or_ you can infect _only a part of_ her brain to give the secure mental link that'll give her a boost. You just need to _splice only_ her DNA when altering her brain cell, and that's a delicate process since you don't want to kill her. But it'll help a lot. Trust me, brother.'_ Alex crinkled his nose at the word _brother_. _'Nothing like a family ties to stabilize a mind. You can even use the bonds Redlight established to your side, and add Blacklight, you're winning chance is most likely.'_

He breathed in deeply at that.

_'I'm not saying you have to choose your choices now. I'm just pointing out you're both dumb and stupid…'_ Alex kept his expression still at that _'…if you don't infect after going through the trouble of saving that girl's mind. She'll be vulnerable what with her mind splintered from whatever mother did, _and_ from the separation.'_ Pariah rubbed the thought in._'You can make this decision right at the critical point when Redlight is separated from the girl's mind. By then, think about it but I encourage you to make your choice_ before _just to make things easy.'_ The link promptly went back to its usual silence.

_Why is it everything about this feels wrong?_ Alex gritted his teeth as he gazed at the city before him.

* * *

Pariah bounced his red rubber ball against the white wall of his room, catching it neatly every time it flew back. He popped his mouth after he hummed a lullaby. He looked like a boy who's in the middle of enjoying his play time. Except his mind was too busy at the moment. He was deep in the hive-mind.

_'Mother dear, I can't quite understand your insistence on this girl.'_ He chimed his thought as he searched the hive-mind, bringing silence and emptiness to the wailings around him. He likes his solitude, and he wants to keep it that way. He already has enough noises from the world, but bringing in one of the most annoying sources closer. That's something he never wanted. So he brought silence with him as he went towards the noisier part of the hive-mind.

_'Why do you hurt us?'_ Redlight's voice murmured softly. The wailings in the background cried louder in answer, as if calling for its mother. Pariah crushed those minds into silence.

He smugly smiled when feeling the emptiness within the silence. _'Because you're less of a life form. You're more of a program, an _imperfect_ one. What you do is because you're compelled to do it. You don't see it as any other way. Besides, it's always out with the old, in with the new._ Pariah hummed this thought._ And mother, you're getting old. I think you need to pass on and I know a brother who can help you along.'_ He grinned.

_'Are you not our son?'_ Redlight whispered sadly.

_'I am your son in every way. Loyal to our nature and to our kind. And that's the thing, nature deems you outdated and I have to do something about _that_.'_ Pariah told her._ 'You're failing to become what you try to strive for, and that means you're not moving with the tides. Your defeat by brother's hand proves this and so you must be wiped off.'_ Pariah answered simply. _'But… if you win, it proves that your existence is still necessary. If not, then it's not. This is the way of nature, and I'm simply acting on it just as you are infecting because of its call.'_

_'Life is not a game, son…'_

Pariah smiled simply in answer. He caught the ball neatly and kept it in his hand. _'It's more interesting to see it as a game than not, and I need all the interesting things I can get if I am going to live this life of waiting.'_

* * *

Martial Law hasn't spread too strictly outside Manhattan… but now. Alex glanced coldly at the black uniformed presence of Blackwatch from the dark alleyway. It's only him out in the city what with curfew placed and common sense ingrained within the people's head—for once. It's probably the horrible weather out here, he noted grimly at the howling wind. Good thing no one is out to breathe the air, unless they want to get infected.

They'll recognize you, his common sense murmured as he watched the patrolling Blackwatch. And if they see you outside Manhattan… let's not do that. Alex shape-shifted his clothes, straining toward grey and earthy color to blend in the urban dark background. His hood slid off with a trucker's cap in place. His jersey turned from brown to grey while his black leather jacket disappeared only to be replaced by a bulky sleeveless dark green jacket with its collars high up to his chin. He changed his jeans into a joggers track pants that parkour morons tends to favor with their grey worn sport shoes. He could have used a Blackwatch disguise, but that would mean he has to tie himself into following orders if some annoying higher-up prick take the opportunity. If they see _this_ disguise, well he's just another shady civ not following orders. There are plenty of those.

"Checking for movements," Blackwatch static voice interrupted.

Light swerve into the alleyway only to find bare red brick walls with a solid metal mesh fence barring the alleyway. None noticed the blurring presence disappearing over the rooftop… or the cracks mark on the brick walls.

Alex streaked across the rooftop, avoiding those occupied by Blackwatch as he made his way over to BioTech. Alex begins to be careful at this point. He'd noticed to his pain, that he leaves cracks behind like breadcrumbs for Blackwatch to follow. So he tried not to leave crack marks that suspiciously made one speculate about some heavy-ass thing with legs having been there. Landing on the familiar helicopter pad, Alex pull out his phone as he walked to the keypad access. He tap in the codes and let the scanner read his phone before shifting his hands to one of the GenTek scientists Ragland had put him under. He placed his hand against the flat scanning panel and was beeped with access. Grimacing when reaching the elevator, Alex tapped the button and waited patiently as the whirr of machine could be heard.

The door opened and he walked in, scowling even more as he jabbed the floor number that Dana resided. In doing so, he broke the button. It was stuck in the wall, and wasn't going to pop out anytime soon. Why didn't they use touch sensitive buttons? A designer side of him, probably from an architect voiced this thought out. Uh, because they didn't thought of it being used by a monster with insane strength like you, his common sense retorted. Despite the broken the button, the elevator still functioned and was slowly descending the number of floors. By the time the number reached 27, Alex was already fidgeting madly at the confining metal space around him. The door slid open as his paranoia on walls closing in _almost_ reached sky high. He should have taken the stairs and no one would fucking care if they found footmark-shaped cracks on the concrete steps.

Alex walked the familiar white corridors before reaching Dana's room. He found, yet again, Ragland in the corner but unlike a week ago, the doctor looked stress and hasn't been checking the mirror lately.

"Ragland," he called out.

The doctor glanced at him only before turning back to the reports he had in hand.

"Just a minute, Alex," The man replied briskly.

"What is it?" Alex walked in, shutting the door gently behind him.

"Redlight has replicated a strain that somehow uses the antivirus drug to its advantage. Its RNA…" the doctor groped.

"Mutation is a bitch," Alex summed up drily.

Ragland looked up with a grimace. "In summary, yes. But such mutation within days, and even seconds. If this keeps going, Redlight could be _the_ feared supervirus man has undoubtedly tried to stop from existing."

Alex frowned darkly. _Viruses are the pinnacle of evolution…_ That would make Redlight existence simply quickened by man. Redlight's superior nature already existed… it just needed some nudging.

"Ragland, I need you to do a favor for me." Alex said this carefully. "I want you to lock this room in every way possible. Change its access code and everything. Don't let anyone in. If Blackwatch and GenTek come, try to distract them."

The doctor looked up with one grey eyebrow raised. "That's putting my own life on the line—directly, when you add the guns in their hand."

"You've done it before." Alex tried to suppress the growl in his throat.

A heavy sigh escaped the doctor. "I'll do what I can but as for distracting GenTek and Blackwatch. Koenig is doing an excellent job at it. The man has the decency to actually_tweak_ their nose what with the feds right behind him. They're too busy trying to stop that old man from rifling their dirty projects." Ragland shook his head. "We've got another Redlight carrier with us anyway… but compare to the other girl, Dana is practically more an unusual case than I thought she was." The doctor stood up and straightened his white lab coat. It was one of the things Alex found _he_ didn't need to do since his 'clothes' always sort itself out.

"And what about you, Alex?" the doctor's voice brought his wondering thoughts.

"I'll be here with Dana," Alex answered as he turned his gaze on his sister laying form. "I'm going to try something."

"Something that ask for no distraction and interruption?"

"Yes," Alex answered back flatly. "I'm going to use the hive-mind," he said and walked to her side, taking the familiar chair against the wall.

"Even if this means nothing to you, I'll just say it. I hope your endeavors will bring help because the girl needs it." Ragland said behind him before the sound of door shutting and the beeping of lockdown was heard.

Alex seated himself down and took Dana's hand. It was warm… feverish warm. Alex gazed at his sister's face.

_'Dana won't be in the normal hive-mind.'_ His voiced this thought out through the link.

_'Yes, she'll be in a secluded one… something like a private… network.'_ Pariah answered. _'But you have a link that straightly connects to Mother. That's all you really need to get into her head.'_

Alex suppressed his disgust as he close his eyes and delve into his hive-mind. Whispering immediately louden at his presence as he sift through the links. A soft ghostly caress brushed the inside of his head. Bingo. That would be Greene. He gripped on that particularly link and began tugging it, pulling himself into Greene's memories.

_'Don't do that!'_ Pariah snapped as Alex did his usually zipping across the lifetime of memories… which was not much for Greene's case since most are blurry and static. _'Take things slowly.'_ Alex suppressed his impatient and his discomfort at that thought._ 'This is Redlight's memories and that means Redlight also shares a link with it. You need to find that link.'_

_'If Redlight shares this link, wouldn't it mean she's sharing a small part of my mind?'_ Alex thought of this.

_'No. Having links doesn't mean you're sharing your mind just as two people holding a rope doesn't make them into one person. Fusing two separate memories that defines a person though _does_.'_ Pariah snapped this crossly. _'Focus. You need to. Unless you want to get lost in Greene's memories.'_

Outside his mind, Alex had subconsciously creased his brow together. A throbbing sensation was starting to grow inside his head. He could feel the tugging tightening on him, particular _his_ that was trying to pull him back out of the memory while Greene's was pulling him _in_.

_'Hurts, doesn't it?'_ Pariah voice this thought out as Alex was growing a headache. Alex blindly groped in the memories of blurs and red static. _'Find something odd. Something that doesn't belong in here.'_

If Alex could sigh in his mind, he would have. He searched not with his eyes, but with his instinctive senses that always told him how close his enemies was, or how in deep shit trouble he was in. It was strange using it this way. Sounds of broken glass cracked, as if someone had accidentally stepped on it. Alex frowned and stared down to yellow gravel road beneath him. Shattered beer bottle was beneath his shoes.

_'How did this get here, and how am I seeing myself?'_ He thought confusingly as he looked down to see his familiar black shoes. Actually it _feels_ like he was _using_ his eyes again, not just _sensing_ anymore.

_'You're in. If you can see yourself, it means you're definitely in someone's head, particularly the dream part or memories. The mind must have recognized you as something not part of it, so it separates your presence, distinguishing you from it,'_ Pariah explained.

Alex looked up and stared at the blurry sunny landscape around him. He looked at the short brick buildings standing with a sense of emptiness emanating from it. Walking towards them, Alex noticed the surreal sensation. He was walking. He could feel himself walking. He could see the ground moving beneath his feet, but the buildings didn't move closer. It just stood there, defying the normal laws.

_'This is strange. It feels like I'm… dreaming.'_ The last word came popping out naturally. He waved his hand, seeing its blurry trace left behind in the air before fading. _'Is this what they call déjà vu?'_ He stared at the buildings around him with odd feeling that there was a connection he had with them. He'd seen them somewhere, but where? Then it dawned on him. Most senior Blackwatch officers knew this place… especially Randall. He was in Hope before it was bombed into rubbles. _'Whose mind I'm in, Dana's or Redlight's?'_ Alex glared at his surrounding. Something about Hope being here tells him it isn't good news.

_'If this is here then it means you're in both.'_ A tug on his sleeve made him looked down to his side. The familiar sandy haired six-year-old boy immediately pointed down the road.

_'Pariah.'_ He thought as the boy begins walking down on the yellow dirt road with his bare feet.

_'Don't dawdle. You don't want to get stuck in here.'_ The boy stopped and turned to look back and glare at him.

It's even strange _hearing_ Pariah's voice… or was it thoughts… Unlike the physical world where a voice can be pinpointed to a source. The world of the mind made it _seemed_ like it was coming from _behind_ _him_…always.

Alex couldn't help but start feeling unsettled as he moved along the road. This is not something he ever experienced before. His senses are in jumble at the strangeness, and so he was forced to _rely_ on someone, someone he really didn't have his full trust in. He also noticed that he could only move in walking pace and not the comfortable rushing speed he'd always used to. The air itself felt strange. It was _too_ still. He usually would feel the cold whiff of New York's wind, or at least a brushing sensation as he moved through it. But this, Alex looked at the skies, it gave him no sensation at all.

_'So how do I start the separation?'_ He asked.

_'Start with the girl. Remind her than help her along. It's going to be up to _her_ if she's to distinguish her own memories from Redlight's. _You_ are going to keep the tentacles off her while keeping her straight on the path.'_ Pariah answered. _'And that's going to be hard because what with Hope being here, we're practically entering Redlight's territory.'_

* * *

_She'd hardly felt the pain of needles pricking or heard the words coming from the white suits around her. She couldn't even think about how or why she was here but what she did felt—and still does, was a sense of completeness. She'd smiled contentedly to herself as they talk around her, even behind the walls. Yes, completeness. She remembered vaguely how the girl she'd been was trying to find her friends, doing those daily actions to build this connection. But no, those ties were nothing compare to the one she has within her._

_These beings that once surrounded her from day to day, they too were trying to find this beautiful connection. They were trying to understand but it's not enough. She'd gazed at one of the white suits as they pull out a third sample from her arm. The third gift for the day. Don't they know they need not to fret? They knew the answer lies within her but they didn't want to put the ties into them. All she needed to do is just give them the _touch_ and it's all they needed to understand this connection. But no, let them find their own answers. It's better that way. Because that's how she got the ties, from them, and through them she'd realized. The _touch_ could never justify that. They have to put the ties within them just how they'd put it in her._

_She'd hoped they would realize soon because the time will come when she has to act, and she'd wanted a big gathering to be part of the rejoicing. She had felt it, the movements. Soon there wouldn't be any need of waiting. She'd smiled at the thought._

_"How is Greene?"_

_Greene… She remembered she'd tilted her head at the mention of her name. Names, they mean nothing. Greene was the name she'd been called, but it didn't matter anymore. The whispers that had been in the background always named themselves though. They won't need to do that when the time comes, she'd hummed softly at the thought of it. They already had the ties within them but they were oblivious to it. She can change that. She could make them _realize_ but she was waiting. Soon, just soon. Wait for a while. It's not time yet, she'd told herself when she felt the alien feeling of life growing inside her. Until _he_ is ready. Yes, when her child is ready inside her, then she will open the minds of others in her rejoice at the coming of her son. She'd felt the stirring of his conscious, as if knowing, as if he was listening to his mother._

_But when the time came… when she made them realized they were a _family_, she had asked only for protection when she needed the most. The family gladly did what she'd asked… but was rid of their earthly ties… and _they_ took her back. The family wailed when they'd been taken away from her. So she'd brought her son into the world with the wailings of the family as his greeting. She'd wanted him to hear the cry of jubilant from the family, not the wailings of the departed, and she still regretted about that. Then _they'd_came and tried to take him. She gave _one of them_ the _touch_ that they deserved. The first to ever hold her son must have the hand that's already touched._

They_ should have known that, but they had been naïve and still are. They're blind and deaf and they didn't have the ties. They didn't even possess the ties or her gifts. At least the white suits actually tried to understand. _They_ just didn't care. So _they'd_… burned the rest of the family and she heard their scream in answer. They take, take, take, and the white suits had joined them. She thought the white suits were a giver since they were the one who gave her the ties. She'd given willingly the answers as a return gift to them. And they were trying to understand her gifts, bringing them into life. So she'd let them see what the ties can do. She wanted them to realize so she'd forgave them if they took so much. But not _them_._

_She'd went back into waiting. It was easier for her to teach her son as distant was placed between them. Her son grew and in time he despised those white suits. She'd told him they weren't as bad as _them_. And it's _them_ that at least tried to hurt him. Her son had retorted that these white suits were trying to cut the ties of the family and that she was blind if she didn't knew that. She disapproved the tone he'd used, and tried very much to discourage. His close ties should have made him humble and she worried the distance was affecting him._

_As for _them_, she encouraged her son to resist… but that made him soon resistant to her. So resistant that he twisted the ties. It made any who tried to link… only feel emptiness. She shuddered at such absence where there was no ties, no family, no connection, nothing. Why does her son seek the opposite? She hopes that when she reunites, make contact with him, it'll restore the ties normal. But the time was approaching again. She'd sensed that same movement. It was always a sign to her that told something important was coming. It was the same feeling that had told her the right time of her son's birth. Then _another_ had come._

_She had watched him struggle. Lost and confuse. She wanted so much to reach out and guide him. He had the ties but he wasn't linked. She had tried to awaken the links in them but she needed to be in contact. When she couldn't she'd realized to her horror that those gifts she let the white suits take, was twisted by _them_. This son also despised _them_ and the white suits, and his hatred grew that it rivaled his brother. She'd said nothing since they did jumble the ties of the family, and that was the caused of his distant, his painful alienation. He was made from that twisted version. And that could make him _one of them_. But he was so alike his older brother. So alike. She'd lamented at that. It reminded too much of her stubborn son who was still refusing the family cause._

_Her own beautiful son and another handsome one, both perfect from what the ties had given them. But they were so rebellious. Selfish to the family. And all because of _them_. And that made her wondered… how about a lovely daughter. One that's far from _their_ reach. One she knew, her son would try to protect, perhaps will make the stubborn one act. She'll need a daughter who's strong, determined to the family cause, something that will move the sheer stubborn rocks that's in their mind. She could have picked any since all needed her… but she picked the one that her son favored, the one her son goes to. The girl brought guidance to her son, so she must be the good one. Her son had also been protecting her zealously from _them_ and that meant she was far from _their_ reaches. But what made her finally picked the girl was due to her son's thought. His thought showed the girl having the potential of being the daughter she was looking for. Her son didn't know of course but she wanted to surprise._

_Thus she established the ties and seen to the girl. She'd been horrified when she saw what should have been the mother through the natural ties. But such cruelty, it's why the world needed the ties that _she_ holds. It's why she's been giving. She could stop this pain, these horrific deeds that they try to inflict on themselves. Don't they know they'll come a time when they needed to be strong _together_?_

_The girl at first didn't think so, but she showed her the memories, the girl's and hers, of the past lives of the family, and the world to prove her wrong. And wrong the girl was when she saw through her eyes, when she finally sees and hears with her new senses… and it made the girl so alone. Nothing can undo the truth, nothing can shut her new eyes and close her ears. The world didn't understand, wouldn't understand but only her. She'll have to live with her opened eyes and ears reminding the world what it truly was, what it'll soon be, what the reason is. And the truth of it was like a heavy rock that's crushing her._

_But mother was there for her. She smiled, remembering how the girl clung onto her at the sheer horror of the truth. She was there to give her the ties and links she needed to be strong, to be ready, to be her true daughter. Her daughter had been stubborn, clinging on the illusion of independence, and still was, a bit, but that was fine. It was what making her a true daughter she wanted._

* * *

_The huge bulbous red growth burst out of the asphalt, standing tall over the tanks and defiant to the helicopters firing. That ugly thing is… Greene? Alex stared as he stood top on a building from a safe distant. He watched how she attacked and use this MOTHER form. It was an awkward looking thing. The main growth huge, almost round-like to reminisce a head. He can easily assume it was heavy enough to crush a tank. Three huge tentacles supported the huge bulbous growth, protecting what looked like a spine bone… Alex cold silvery eyes narrowed on that. So its support was like its neck. When there's a neck, there's a spine… with muscles—the tentacles that can be cut to weaken support. His eyes locked onto the small spot near top of its head. It looked like a mouth with suspicious female outline could be seen inside it. She must be in there and this thing must be her armor._

_As if knowing he was there, Alex saw one of its huge tentacles that was thicker than a hydra, smacked the asphalt, cracked it and grab a whole lot of loose debris, then flinging it to the skies above it… towards him. A stream of blurry rock debris shot past the edge of the building just as he stepped back. One hit the spot he was standing, sending a cloud of dust and spraying loose concrete gravel all over him. He waved away the dust, revealing one of the rocks flung indented into the concrete before him. The speed… the strength threw into such a throw, it should be impossible for a form so big and awkward… but then he's living sentient virus that carries an engineered strain of Redlight, so he really couldn't complain, couldn't he?_

_Tension coiled in his legs, he released and leaped off the building, into the air high above the red bulbous growth. He immediately dived down headfirst and was about to flip until flares of green orbs whizzed out from beneath him. One smacked him, unbalancing his dive and sending his vision blurring about him. Flailing for a second, Alex grunted as he righted himself with a dash forward, dodging past the other green fiery orbs. He ignored the feeling of burn on his "skin" as his vision narrowed with swirl of black tendrils flickering around the edges. Body unformed, flickering his true form for a second before the swirling mass of black tendrils reshaped themselves into the black carapace armor. By the time his form was settled, Alex had slammed into the cracked road right beside the red monstrosity, unleashing black spikes out of the ground all around him._

_In his narrowed vision, Alex saw his spikes satisfyingly sliced right through the thick red tentacles. Holes were punctured into the tentacles, leaving its form measly and horribly weakened. Flare of fiery green orbs sprung out of the bulbous head and flew toward him like heat-seeking missile. Right arm shaped into whipfist, Alex leaped as he lashed at the tentacles, slashing and ripping off the remaining flesh. The air around him impossibly seems to thicken. Now where had he felt this awful sensation, his instinct nudged this just as he danced, dodging hunters and those fiery green orbs while attacking the supporting tentacles._

_The huge monstrosity loomed above him, still refusing to fall down. Its tentacles weren't spouting black liquid of biomass like most infected do when close to dying. In fact, Alex saw a flicker of red tendrils rippling across its surface. It was when he felt the growing rage buzzing from the back of his head, coming from the link of the hive-mind, that made him suddenly realized what Greene was about to do. Fuck, he immediately turned around, shifting out of his armor form in his sprint. Speed and maneuverability is what he needed to get as far away as possible._

_Alex jumped over a tank, ducked under a shot missile from it, and tackle pass and through the number of infected with ease. Greene's wrath grew to the point that it shook the inside of his mind. Screwing with his sight so that the world was grey… for just a moment, and when the moment pass, the air bursts behind him with the whole of the hive-mind screaming. The devastating shockwave blasted, rippling the air red and threw off everything around it, sending tanks and helicopters flying low somersaulting through the air and into the distant._

_Alex was caught in the shockwave. He felt his mass being shaken so much that he could feel the very cells of him shriveled and ripped. He was bleeding out the black liquid of biomass from the very pores. All escaping out of his body against his will. Time caught up with him, and he flew over the road, bouncing repetitively off it like some skipping stone. He should have been a black splatter on the road by the end, but he managed to get up, painfully slow. His body whole, but extremely lighten of his biomass. He gritted his teeth together at his pain as black tendrils flickered all over him uncontrollably, traumatized and shaken from the abuse it went through. But Alex stilled his unruly body as he noticed the distant between him and the monstrosity._

_He was now almost half a block away. Impressive. Alex saw the quick movements of red tentacles, and immediately jumped out of the way as road debris were suddenly streaming towards him. Hunters roaring sound off behind him as he quickly glide behind a building, away from Greene's sight. A group of convenient infected was waiting for him. Alex morphed his right arm into a giant blade in answer and lunge down feet first this time. His shoes slammed into one of those bloated infected body, mopping it across the cracked road as he surfed in his landing. He spun where he stood, slicing the infected bodies surrounding him, splattering black-red liquid of biomass. Warm red liquid sprayed across his face but quickly disappeared, seeping across his face and into the depth of his hood. The other black-red liquid around him, slid across the black asphalt, towards him as he dive-rolled at a hunter's charge. He couldn't help but smiled when the hunter's exposed pinky back faced him._

_Alex jumped onto it and he elbow slammed down onto the hunter's head, ramming the small end of the blade through its bone with a satisfying crack. Black tendrils burst out of him and embedded into the flesh. His virus assimilated the hunter's biomass, threading it out into black tendrils that joined and weaved into his body. He rid another two hunters before being full. Temporarily street clean, Alex dashed back to time square, but instead of rushing toward MOTHER, he ran up to the side of the building looking down the monstrosity. He ignored the cracks of the glass beneath his feet and the sound of shattering from the hunters clawing after him._

_Greene screamed, as if outraged at his action. Thankfully he was safely far above her devastators. Reaching the top, Alex immediately leaped from the edge and dive down to the red monstrosity below. Dashing past the fiery green orbs and swerving out of streaming rocks, he repeated the same thing he'd done in the beginning. He slammed down onto the road, releasing groundspike devastators around him. It hit Greene mostly, cutting through the final supports. The monstrosity screeched as it toppled down onto the road, its feeble spine can hardly hold it up._

_Alex immediately rushed with his great blade ready to stab the female figure in the mouth. He reached it, blade aimed right at the slimy flesh… until it coughed out a woman covered in blood. He bared his teeth, his prey finally helpless at his feet. Greene… the woman looked up, her short hair wet… but they weren't the color of ginger. Blue piercing eyes looked back at him accusingly._

_"Why do you hurt us?" Alex hardly heard Greene's voice overlapped with Dana's. He only heard the betrayal in his sister's voice._

Alex reached out to her, but Dana cringed back as if he was about to grabbed hold of her neck… like how he did it to Greene just he was about to consume her. He ignored the sense of wrongness, pushing away his feeling that was crushing something inside him. He needed to stay strong for the job so he clasped his hands around her shoulder. Desperately he kneeled before her, looking at her pleadingly as she squirmed in his strong hold.

"Dana! Listen to me!" he shook her. "There is no us! There is only you. Redlight is invading your mind!"

Dana looked at him, her eyes focused. "Alex," her voice so small when she spoke.

The street, the buildings… everything around them melted into swirling red tendrils. His sister looked at him, her eyes glazed but her face fixed with distress.

"I can hear them, Alex," she said this, her voice full of horror as she clutched his jacket desperately, her hands squeezing tightly. "The wailings, the fucking voices. I can hear them…" she rambled then stopped to focus on him. "Why am I hearing them from you also?" She stared at him with confusion and started to panic. "She called you her son." Alex hardly registered the words when Dana suddenly backed away, wrenching from his hold.

"Dana!" Alex cried when his sister was swallowed into the mass of red tendrils. Without thinking, he jumped after her, into the swirling red mass. The tendrils wrapped around him in answer and dug into him. He screamed.

_'FOOL!'_

Something grabbed hold of him from behind, wrenching him out into the clear blue skies… and silence. He was standing out in the middle of yellow dirt road. Alex turned sharply to the boy standing beside him.

_'You are weaker than I thought.'_ Pariah glared up at him disapprovingly. _'Mother has clutch onto one of your memories, she's practically reeling you in. If she had successfully grabbed the whole of you, then she would have ripped you apart.'_

Alex couldn't help but felt… angry in answer, perhaps even mortified.

_'Those feelings won't help you. Emotion can be manipulated in here.'_ Pariah told him crossly. _'But you didn't lose yourself in the memories_ and_ you managed to contact the girl, I can give you that.'_ The boy voiced this grudgingly before walking off.

_'What exactly happened just now?'_ Alex thought of this as he followed the boy.

_'Your mind was trying to link with the girl's just like how you do it every time you enter someone else's memories.'_ Pariah explained. _'She wasn't consumed and she doesn't have your virus, so your mind was technically making tighter links to Redlight.'_ Alex couldn't help but felt disgusted. _'Remember, we're using Redlight's link to enter the girl's mind. Any connection to her is actually connection to Redlight. _You're_ supposed to resist from making links, but you've never done that… and it's quite a painful process.'_ The boy shook his head grimly._ 'Those links are technically your rope or anchor at keeping your mind stable and from being scattered into the memories. This is what I meant about you taking things _too_ personal.'_ Pariah grimaced. _'But on the other thought, establishing links is like giving Redlight your…'_ Pariah groped for the words _'_…_puppet string, or remote control, or whatever humans use to control their toys.'_

The wave of anxiety grew but the sound of paper fluttering distracted him. He looked up and stared at the skies in wonder… it was raining papers, newspaper articles really. One paper fluttered past his face and immediately grabbed it. He looked at the article and notice in curiosity most of the photos and words were censored by someone running a black marker pen over it. A shoddy job since Alex could still see the words. Words like... GenTek… child genius… genetic engineering…cer… BlackLight. He stopped at the word in the middle of the article. The other words around it were blackened out.

_'What the hell_,_'_ he looked at other articles around him but all seemed to flicker in and out of existence… almost static.

_'Interesting…'_ Pariah piped his thought at this. _'I'm guessing the more connection established, the more of… these interesting things are going to happen. It'll probably be more vivid and harder to brush off.'_

Yes, this is really something out of his experience, something that his powers can't do a thing. Alex thought grudgingly as papers flutter down around him.

* * *

**Holy shits... mistakes. How could I missed them. Oh god, that make me cringe... *shudder***


	7. A Virus Nightmare

**Memories Defines Us, Part Two**

* * *

Searching for something out of place was like playing 'can you spot the difference' without referring to its twin picture. The twin picture was Redlight's memories without Dana's, but Alex hadn't seen anything Dana's… besides the trails of static articles fluttering about. He wondered if Dana being a journalist was the cause of it. Besides that, they'd been walking the same yellow dirt road, under the same glaring blue skies, with the same low red brick buildings standing at the sides. It wasn't as if it went on forever, because he could perfectly see the end where the buildings disappeared into whiteness, and he could certainly see the buildings pass by as they moved _forward_. He could feel his feet walking, see the ground moving under him… it's just his destination never reaches him. It never gets closer!

_This is not working._ He thought darkly to no one at all. He turned and looked accusingly at his only company.

A sandy haired six-years-old boy was a strange company for a stroll, especially if said boy was barefoot and wore completely white non-branded clothes that screamed 'straight from the hospital here!' And for a six-years-old, the boy wasn't making spastic noises at everything or clinging onto the adult that accompanied him, or even running around like some ADHD kid. No, the boy was mostly quiet and had too much of a 'serious' air around him. He stuck to a straight course in their walk and he kept distance from his company, as if liking his space undisrupted. In fact, the boy was acting how any adult would—well, a not amused adult.

That made sense since the boy was forty years old boy's body. Said boy though had a codename, codename PARIAH. Pariah in definition means a social outcast, an exile, outsider, which was ironic when knowing the basic history of the boy. The only life the boy lived was a recluse life inside the confines of a clean room. And from what Alex had seen, it didn't have much at all. Not even a bed. It was just a plain white room, far too brightly lit and rigged with cameras. He'd found the boy sitting in the middle of the room with the only possession being a red pencil and a bunch of papers. Alex had wondered why Blackwatch would give such a codename, besides what the boy is and how the general society would react to such a being. When he'd thought about it, it was kind of like an official stamping of 'doomed forever to this life'.

Pariah's once immobile face now had a dark frown with narrowed eyes, as if the world has done something it shouldn't have, and it had. For one thing, the world of the mind was not behaving as he expected to.

_'Don't panic when I do this,'_ he told Alex when he suddenly reached out with small arm, and clutched onto Alex's black leather jacket.

_'Do what?'_ Alex narrowed his eyes and wondered what the boy was up to.

_'This.'_

For once, the world _really_ didn't made sense at all. It wasn't earth shaking. It was more like those moments where he was thrown into the air then falling uncontrollably while everything around him spinning into a blurry mess. And he couldn't do a thing to steady his fall. Hating the helpless feeling, he noticed weird shit was happening to him. Silence was suddenly screaming louder than any explosions could. The space around closed in while distorting into a loopy insanity, confusing his sight and feeling to sky-high level. If this happened to him in real life, Alex would have assumed he'd consume some druggie. A shift in the air brought him back into focus. He tried to lock on what he was smelling but it slipped past his grasp. So did the taste. No matter, it brought him back… somewhere.

* * *

_"Dana. Helloooo Dana! You seemed to space out just now," her older brother snapped, but there was vicious smirk on the edge of his lips. "Scared?"_

_She stared at him for a while before the emotion finally bubbled out of her. "That was the most disgusting stupid horror movie ever! You horrible excuse of a brother! You told me it's going to be one of the spy thriller movies!" she shrieked, about to pelt him with popcorns for that. Her brother snatched away the popcorns between them._

_"Technically Freddy had been spying on the idiots, and the idiots knew so they start panicking and running around like how the people do it in thriller movies." Alex put on his annoying-intelligent-asshole voice._

_She glared at her brother for that. "I'm not going to forgive you," she miffed and turned her back on him._

_Alex made a chicken noise._

_"It was gory. It's something an eleven-years-old shouldn't have watched," she snapped. "So much blood and the girls in it were stupid. Everyone was stupid in it! This is why I hate Nightmare on Elm Street! Everyone is going to die in the end anyway while Freddy always doing his asshole thing! And who wears nighties like those?!"_

_"I have to agree you on one part. He's a dangerous asshole who does things just for laughs. Also he just doesn't want to die," her brother murmured. "You know if I'd been one of his victims and knew a psychopath like him exists? I would join in the insanity and try to fuck him around before he kills me. At least I get the satisfaction of having him screwed over." Alex gave an evil chuckle that was seriously creeping her out._

_"You have to be paranoid. Like really paranoid," she replied to her brother's logic._

_"Freddy relies too much on surprising his victims. If he keeps doing that then someone's bound to learn from it but then I'm not surprised." Alex shrugged. "Most of his victims are well-off idiots with no thoughts of knife and guns," he pointed out._

_"Freddy's immune to knife and gun. He distorts reality," she answered back._

_"Yeah, he mind-fucks," her brother conceded. "But I wonder, how can you beat a mind-fuck game when your own imagination can kill you?' her brother speculates. "Hm, I've been over thinking about it. All you need to do is shoot your own head off," he said. "At least it doesn't give Freddy the satisfaction."_

_"Doesn't Freddy collect the souls of those he screwed?"_

_"Shoot your own head off so that Lucifer gets you first instead of Freddy."_

_"So you shoot your own head off in a church? Wow Alex, that's a slap to God's face."_

_"It does have certain sense of logic. Shoot your head off just as Freddy about to get you, death would arrive and oh look, the fucker that's been escaping the scythe is there for easy reaping. That will get two birds in one stone while you get to have the last laugh seeing Freddy finally getting it," Alex said this, laughing. "All this soul collecting makes me think Freddy is building his own hell and managing it. I think that's what he's been doing between movies." Her brother grinned._

_"Can we talk about something else now? You're starting to creep me out." She made a face and turned to _him. _She tilted her head, as if noticing the stranger for once._

_'Hello.'_

Alex stood confused in the memory. Did she just… talk? Well her mouth didn't move, but she's looking straight _at him_. Alex stood in what looked like a living room, looking _at_ the only occupants. Not once has a memory done something like this. Heck, he wasn't even sure it was a memory at all since he wasn't looking _through_ someone's perspective.

_'You're looking for her, right?'_ Little Dana smiled at him from the couch.

"How is this possible?" Alex murmured and stared hard at the girl sitting beside a young man.

She said nothing as if she didn't notice he'd response. Her expression hasn't changed also, making Alex felt like he was talking to a… simulation of memory—yes, that's it, an AI. She had a white haze covering her. It made her constantly a blur no matter how much he stared.

_'Well?'_ She waited.

This was… Dana. Little girl Dana. Unlike the adult, little Dana had her hair long. Real long, past her shoulders where it draped against a big baggy black t-shirt that said something, but it was too faint for him to read.

Alex never recovered any memory of his creator's childhood, none at all. He'd _consumed_ memories _about_ his creator. But the one he managed to recover, the small glimpses of rare flashbacks, barely scratched Alex Mercer's memories, and he was glad for it. He didn't want to have the memories of the monster and he doubted his creator's memories even exist at all, or that's what he told himself. But Alex can't help but feel the fleeting doubt that he _does_ _have_ the memories. Alex Mercer is as much as a part of him as the myriads of others he consumed, the first actually. And firsts are known to be special. He just refused to acknowledge _it_.

_'Have you read the articles?'_

Alex opened his mouth but only to nod at the girl's question.

_'She doesn't listen to me anymore,'_ the girl said, suddenly sad. _'I remind her too much of him leaving.'_ She looked to her side, at the young man leaning against the side couch. He was actually dozing as the TV's light flickered and illuminated his face. The young man didn't have much of a tan compare to the man he'll be—was, Alex corrected himself. Little girl Dana did something curious. He watched her take a black marker pen on the coffee table in front, then unclip it before drawing on… her brother. He stared, surprised at the sudden devilish act as the girl give her brother the famous fascist mustache right beneath the nose. He couldn't help but smirk at this.

_'To her, I'm the voice that got her hurt.' _She said, clipping the pen and admired her oblivious dozing brother now with a Hitler moustache. She gave an impish smile before looking at the far end of the room with troubled eyes. _'That's not supposed to be there,'_ she murmured.

Alex followed her gaze and saw the hazy blurry boundary of a wall. Slick red roots were creeping out of the dark corner, making web patterns across the wall and rotting the bland paper-like material like some infection. It was spreading fast like someone had press fast forward on it. He knew those roots… they were actually tendrils. Alex looked in horror as the infection crept across the floor, around the couch area, around little girl Dana. The eleven-years-old immediately pulled her bare feet up from the carpeted ground, narrowly avoiding getting scratched by one of the reaching tendrils.

Alex instinctively reached out to her. As if his weight has doubled, the floor cracked and burst inward beneath his feet. His leg slipped into the new hole as the floor level rose up in his vision. His hands had a different thought about this. They were stubbornly grasping on the edge of the hole, leaving him hanging above an… abyss, Alex noted grimly when he'd glanced down.

One floorboard creaked and broke under his right hand. He would have immediately replaced his grip on the edge if it weren't for the red tendrils growing and blocking it from his grasp. It didn't stop there, red tendrils spread and clasped onto his left hand. _That's not a good thing at all_, he thought but he couldn't just snatch his hand away. Tendrils wrapped around his wrist, and webbing down his arm much to his effort of ripping them off him. Alex really wanted to pull away because he could feel the tendril's end digging in, trying to puncture into his flesh. He knew he shouldn't unless he wants to fall into an abyss. Alex grunted in disgust at the vast emptiness beneath him.

The irritating red tendrils dug into him as his whole arm was now a cocoon webbed with it. More spread past his shoulder, to his expose neck. Some even went into his hood and in his jacket. Alex forced himself not to cringe before glancing up quickly. He saw the back of a pair of bare foot. Red tendrils throb on its white skin before fading into red veins at mid-calf. The rest was white flesh draped over with a faded fabric—the bottom part of a summer white dress. The wearer though ignored him entirely, standing with her back on him… facing Dana and offering her arms like a mother would when waiting for a hug. Her stark red hair betrayed who she was. Greene.

Alex went to reach out for a grasp on one of her nearby leg. At least she'll be drag down into the hole with him, away from Dana, he thought darkly. Only the little girl was stretching out her arm… to Greene's open arm just as he was moving. _No_. Alex moved faster but the floor disagreed. It broke under the only grip he had and his left hand slipped from the edge, if it weren't for the tendrils holding onto him. His right hand wrapped around Greene's ankle firmly thanks to that. Greene's arms were closing around Dana as tendrils snapped with Alex slipping suddenly down the edge. With a startle cry, both woman and child were dragged along helplessly by Alex's fall.

* * *

The ground slammed up from behind him, but unlike the normal world floor, it didn't crack. He lay there, still, before promptly getting up to find himself in some plain corridor. Walls were white and plastic benches lined the sides. Doors had clipboards attached to them with a small window looking into rooms. It was gloomy as the only light came from the florescent bulbs that lined the low ceilings above. One end led to another junction of corridors, the other… he stared at the at the dark end where lights were flickering, before switching off into complete darkness. A huge gaping abyss was staring at him in place of another corridor. One thing should be clear, when Alex can't see he senses his surrounding. It was probably due to his fine hearing tuning on where the sounds bounce, unconsciously telling him where and what the object is. But the feeling he got was giving him blank. His paranoid sense twitched, not liking the sudden abnormality staring back at him.

It seemed… alive. Alex narrowed his eyes suspiciously then felt the air rush past him, towards the darkness. As if it's breathing in, and moving. He noticed the last part when the abyss surged forward. Backpedaling, Alex saw the nearby lights flicker violently before swallowed by the creeping darkness. Red tendrils came out of the living abyss, seeping across the walls, floors and ceiling. Cracking everything in its grip as it spread fast… towards him. _This is something claws or blade can't stop_, Alex crinkled his nose in disgust as he backtracked and turned around, bursting into a run. Like before, his destination didn't reach any closer as he moved towards it. The junction at the far end sticks there in the distant, teasing him as he felt trapped in this endless corridor.

He flew past a number of doors and windows, and it was then he noticed something very important. _Why am I not moving fast_? He thought, panicking as the wall move past him slowly, as if someone had put him on slow… or his powers were gone, all of them. He glanced behind him. The living abyss was right behind him with red tendrils swarming out to seek its prey. One swiped for his ankle, successfully webbed around his feet. His left leg wrenched sharply back. He slammed against the floor and red tendrils reeled in quickly, dragging him towards the abyss. Alex hissed desperately as he clawed for a hold on the blue lino floor while his fingers just slid across the surface helplessly. He turned around to face the abyss as he pull himself back, trying to get his leg wrenched out of the red tendril's grasp.

"Fuck!" he snarled, panicking when his left ankle was swallowed into darkness, sunk into what felt like some sickly warm gooey liquid… that was throbbing. A pinching sensation suddenly probed it before a sharp stab dug deep. Alex made a strangled noise as something travel up _through_ his leg. Gritting his teeth at the pain, he doubled his efforts while red tendrils continued to infect, spreading across the floor, over his leg and webbing him to the ground. It creeped up his body as with the abyss, taking time while he was violently struggling.

He tugged his leg back sharply, holding back his wince as he pulled, feeling like he was ripping his foot off his leg. Wrestling back his foot, Alex gave another effort of tug and was rewarded with being freed. Snapping off the red tendrils with a hard tug, he stood up and turned around. He ran again, this time promising not to look back. A lit doorway with bright, shining light pouring out of its window stood ahead of him. He rushed towards it, wrenching it open then slamming it shut on the corridor behind him.

Alex immediately turned to sprint but stopped. He found himself sitting in a brightly lit room. Looking back over his shoulder, a plain white wall stood behind him with no sign of corridors at all… or the vengeful abyss. Monitors beeping steadily greeted his ears, his head turned back slowly at the sound. Dana lay still in her bed before him. Did he… fall asleep? Alex shook his head then looked at his comatose sister. She lay there blissfully compare to the hell he'd just went through.

"I just had a nightmare, Dana," he said to her wryly. "It was fucked up."

Dana's expression hardly changed but it didn't deterred him so he continued, "I learned the world was going to end, I don't know when but it was soon. Also you were going to be the new Greene and I was supposed to do these bullshits—," he waved his right hand around his head, "—with the mind to stop that from happening," he told her and paused before chuckling at this. "So this is what it's like to have a normal dream," he said amusingly. "Better than the _other ones_. This one was too unbelievable." He shook his head and leaned back into his chair.

A small noise escaped from in front of him, from Dana. He froze and focused intently on his sister. A small quirk on her lips and a scrunch appeared between her eyebrows, as if she was disapproving. Piercing blue eyes open and Dana sucked in, inhaling heavily instead of the small rhythmic breathing. She blinked repeatedly before they shifted around before they found him.

"Alex," she murmured, her voice weak. She stared at him dazedly, as if not comprehending him being there.

He stood up immediately at the sound of her voice and moved closer to her side. "I'm here, Dana," he said to her.

She blinked more before turning her head sluggishly to look around. Slowly she sat up. Alex moved to help but she only placed her arm on him to push him away. Regardless he was still a supporting post she was using to pull herself up.

"I'm fine," she managed to grumble, "And please, don't stand there with your hood up like some grim reaper."

Alex pondered about that. He didn't know what to say, really. A normal person would have been filled with emotions at moments like this, then bursting it out in some kind of a garbled form of humane expression. And that's the thing. Alex Mercer was never the expressing type… or even connected with his emotions, let alone something human. Rage was natural, fear too; those feelings were well connected to his instincts, but those that are not… well, his face and his body ended up being stiff and hopeless in reaction. For that, he was left with the feeling of apology, so he mumbled, 'Sorry.'

He seated himself back down after he dragged the chair closer, but slowly slid his hood off. Alex painfully noted that his hair weren't the curly deep chestnut brown hair the real Alex Mercer had. Instead, they were darker and dull, almost black. Its strands were straight and slick back, giving the impression of a clammy disheveled hair that was given a quick tidy up. The one disguise Blacklight couldn't do right had to be this one. Even his skin was pale, sickly pale instead of the healthy tan the original Alex Mercer had. A person might blame it from the lack of sunlight. Alex blames it on death… or its affects it has on a 'dead' body.

"You look like shit, like you have the fever," his sister commented, interrupting his morbid thought as she sat there on the bed, looking at him in wonder. "How long have you been sitting there?" Her blue eyes blinked curiously.

"Hours." Alex shrugged.

"No wonder," she murmured amusingly.

Alex cocked his eyebrow at that. "Well you don't look too well either."

"Fuck off. I'm the one that's been unconscious here." Dana just sniffed. His lips moved unconsciously and widen into a smile. Silence hung between them but a hic of laughter escaped his sister's mouth, followed by gasping burst from her mouth. Alex moved instinctively but Dana lifted her hand quickly. "Don't you move from that chair, mister," she wheezed this as the last cough escaped from her mouth."I don't need the mother hen thing going on, especially if the mother hen is giving off the aura of death."

Alex mentally winced at the unconscious joke. He quickly let it slide past as he watched Dana lay back down on her bed, her face suddenly drawn and tired. She lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling.

"How long I was out?" she asked this, her voice still weak.

"Almost a month," he answered.

Dana turned to look at him for that. "Wow, that long," she murmured. "No wonder my limbs feel heavy." She lifted her hand up sluggishly but promptly dropped it as if it was too heavy. "Recovery is going to be a bitch," she said, her voice slurred.

Dana's awake, and she's fine. She's fine. Absolutely fine and it gave him the most amazing feeling he ever felt. It was a weird feeling… this bubbly warm feeling fluttering inside his chest. A sense of light-headedness surrounded him. It was nice, pleasant. He didn't notice his sister was looking at him curiously, especially at the smile on his face. It's been a long time she'd seen her brother smiling like that. Dana smiled. A pain suddenly throbbed in her abdomen. She frowned and moved her hand to press her belly. Alex saw that and immediately stood up.

"What's wrong?" he asked when he placed his hand on her back unconsciously.

Dana just curled up and gave a small moan.

"Dana!" he called out to his worry.

"Alex," she called, her voice quiet. Dana looked up with her scrunched up face. "I can feel something moving inside me," she said this quietly, her breathing heavy.

What. Don't panic. Don't panic. She's looking at you. So don't panic. Alex stared then blinked back into focus.

"Dana, I'm going to do something. Don't freak out, okay?" he told her and promptly pressed his hand on her belly. It was hard and swollen, feverishly warm. He blinked, switching to infected vision. Dana's body was slightly glowing sickly yellow. The belly though had something growing in it. A blob… a shape of strong yellow was growing inside her. The thing moved what looked like a spider's leg. What the hell. He bared his teeth, his fingers were twitching to sprout into claws, itching to rip the abomination out, but he stopped himself. Dana will die if he let his natural instinct take over. So Alex stared at the monstrosity growing inside his sister.

"Alex, what's happening to me?!" Dana cried as her fingers dug into his arm tightly, bringing him back.

He opened his mouth but just looked at her helplessly.

"Something is inside me, isn't it? Isn't it!" she demanded frantically. "Some monster Greene put in me!" Dana doubled over again and this time she screamed, shrilling in pain as she clutched her belly.

Alex reached out to comfort, to do something but it was like the bed she sat on moved away, even the room was dragged away from him. His hand ended up pressing against wood, with him suddenly looking through a square window on a door. The hunched form of his sister curled up on the bed helplessly. Red movement from the corner caught his sight. Tendrils creep out from the corners of the room, spreading and covering across the walls and floors with red pulsating veins, moving towards Dana, who was still helplessly doubled over on the bed. Alex hands wrapped around the door lever and press down, only it stubbornly remained fixed. He shook it violently and immediately began slamming his shoulder on the door. The solid material didn't crack or dent as a normal door should've. He punched to break through the window, hoping to unlock the door on the other side. And again it remained stiff and impossibly unbroken under his fist. Alex immediately went back to slamming against the door, frantic in his effort to get back into the room.

"ALEX!" Dana's voice cried, fear and desperation laced in it.

He glanced in and saw the whole room was almost covered with red webbing of tendrils. The last clear spot was around Dana, and she was taking as much advantage, backing from the covered the walls and sticking to her bed. The light in her room dimmed as tendrils grew and cover it.

"ALEX!" Dana pleaded.

"I'm coming!" he shouted, quickening his slamming on the door.

Red growth cut into his view. The tendrils grew across the window, covering and swallowing the only view on his sister. He doubled his effort, trying to yank but with all his powers and effort, the door remained stubbornly shut. _C'mon!_ He glanced up again but the window was now mostly covered with a throbbing red mass. His sister disappearing fast from his view.

"DANA!" Alex yelled then swore when the door was sudden swarmed over by throbbing red veins. Tendrils pricked into his shoulder but he pulled back roughly, snapping those attached to him.

A horrible sound of a woman's scream cried out behind the door before silence cut in sharply. And it cut him deep.

"Dana." The name escaped his lips meaninglessly as he step away from the door, backing to the wall before sliding down onto the floor. He stared, numbed and uncaring as red tendrils creep out from the door in front him. _She's gone,_ he thought as the red tendrils freely creeped up from the floor and around his legs. She's gone… tendrils reached his neck and touched his cheek. His vision grew patchy as the tendrils closed in, swallowing his sight fully into a throbbing dark world.

.

.

.

.

.

"Honestly, you're just going to give up. You're going to leave her just like that. Just like how _he_ did?" a girl's voice cut in.

Alex ignored the eleven years old girl standing in front of him. She frowned and crane forward, her nose inch away from his face. Puckering her lips, she pulled her face back and raised her hand. SMACK! Alex corrected his face back from the slap before looking at the girl sharply.

"Your brother needs your help and he's not whining like some baby," the girl sniffed before the sound of her feet walking away faded.

_This is a dream._ A dream, the words repeated in his head. When did you start to dream? You never dreamed. Why are you here? To save… save what? You can't even protect her… protecting is not part of you. Too numb to care, Alex hardly gave a fuck at those thoughts. He simply just stopped thinking. Silence… sounds of paper fluttering greeted the silence. An article swept into the darkness and fluttered into the floor beside his hand. It was white against the pitch black around, almost surreally as static flickered on its image. His fingers moved with its own thoughts and pulled the paper towards him, eyes moved and lock onto the reading material. This time all the words were censored except for a few letters that looked handwritten. E. H. E. I. A. P. E. X. L. L. E. N. Y. D. U. O. R. The mind is an unruly thing. When told to stop thinking, it just works on faster. And right now, Alex's mind was shifting the letters, forming the message.

_'I need your help, Alex.' _His eyebrows twitched as they furrowed.

More papers fluttered. They rolled over some invisible floor, flapping past him. His legs moved this time and his back straightened. His body pulled up to stand on its own, leaving him standing there when the sensation left him. Alex looked at the fluttering papers before, dancing in some unknown wind as they slid across the ground. He went towards it and it fluttered further off in answer. _Why is it everything here likes to make things hard for me?_ His footwork quickened, and he begins running after the articles that were now drawings. The familiar scrawling of burning cities, the dead, basically depressing Armageddon pictures, his eyes flicking across them.

Noises drifted in, whispering… music, voices, phones, car tires screeching, gun fire bang, a radio hiss, the whistle from a bird, a hum from a lullaby… all kinds of noises. It grew in number 'til it roared and clamored, filling up his mental space. Suddenly the volume flared. Alex felt like he was smashed into a corner, squeezed into it when sounds of every kind ran amok. It was like all the memories he'd consumed were all suddenly alive and rushing up all over the place with him lost amongst them. Caught like some bystander in a crowd during rush-hour, he thought darkly. But he kept on going, seeing the darkness fading away into the smooth floor… of a subway. Alex came out of the tunnels and immediately climbed up the waiting platform. The noises rushed around him as if invisible people were there making the ruckus.

Alex followed the laid out drawings, quickly rushing up the steps then stopping before the presence of red tentacles. He crinkled his brow together before looking up. His sight was greeted what looked like the insides of a hive… except tentacles were coming off the walls, floors, ceilings. All extended and attached to the tight small figure hang aloft, wrapping around into a cocoon of throbbing mass. It reminded him of a web… a strange web since there was no pattern. Alex stared at the centre and saw small bare foot kicked out of the red mass before over-swarmed by the red tentacles. A glimpse of a small hand… belonging to a child. The hand squirmed but was pulled deep into the ever-swirling tendrils cocoon. _Pariah. He's in there. I've got to get him out_, he thought grimly._ He's the only one who can make sense in this hell. I… need him_, he admitted this reluctantly.

_'Mother is only doing good for you, son.'_ The background noises soften, shunned at the wailing that accompanied _that_ voice.

"Greene," Alex murmured to himself and searched for the source. "Where are you?" His eyes flickered about, hunting down his prey.

_'Mother is everywhere.'_ Voices drifted to his ear as the red pulsating veins by his shoes throbbed at the passing presence. This voice—voices were different. For one thing, Greene's dominating voice was missing, he noted grimly.

_'He never listens…never listens…selfish…selfish to the family.' _The cocoon tightened and a muffled scream escaped from it. '_Mother knows why now. Mother can hush those noises away.'_

Alex looked down to stare at his plain pale right hand, waiting. A flicker of black tendril squirmed around his hand in eager. He smirked as more tendrils join in. His arm shifted to the familiar form of his claw. Ah, this feeling. It wasn't euphoria or the feeling of relief. It was the satisfying feeling of freedom. The freedom to kill. Alex blue eyes flashed on that before looking up and lunging towards a nearby tentacle. He slashed through the number of membranous red flesh then turns. His arm formed into a whip and he swipe through the forest of thick tentacles before him, cutting his way into the structure.

_'Stop!'_

Alex ignored it as he continued cutting through the infection. A huge red tentacle thick as tree trunk swiped for him. He dodged back as it slammed down on the path before him. What sounded like metal coils whipping out made him turn to the source. He saw the slashed tentacle hang in the air as others lay on the ground, moving as if alive. Its sharp tips rose up as its rope-like body twirled, coiling, then turned to face him. He ducked and jumped back as the sharp tipped end stabbed through the air and shot towards him. The sound of whip whistled as they slashed. Their rope of a body widened into a thin flat ribbon, and from the sound they were making the edges must be sharp. Real sharp, he noted as he dived rolled under when a mass of it slashed the air. Ringing lingered in the air as it whistled past.

_'We just want him back. We just want him to see.'_

Three nearby tentacles rushed to slam him. Alex jumped high over the attacks and dug into the red flesh of the tentacles above. He hung in the air, above the swarming red tendrils gathering down below, swirling as they coiled for a jump. He held back his grimace as he placed the flat soles of his shoes on the strands of the web, which were the slimy tentacles. _Don't get distracted,_ he thought grimly as he ran up the inclined tentacles. Eyes on the cocoon, he didn't see the hydra guarding it. Its red flesh blended perfectly with the tentacles keeping their prize tight inside the cocoon. It was probably the fact that an upside down hydra without road debris around it never occurred to him before. One moved and smacked him flatly in the stomach, sending a bewildered Alex briefly flying through air. He hit into a face full of red flesh. Caught in one of the webs he ungracefully tumbled down, slamming repetitively into tentacles in the process.

_'He does not love us_,' the wailings cried. 'They _twisted him. _They _hurt him.'_

He hit another tentacle and quickly dug his claws deep into the passing flesh. Sliding down across its slimy surface before his fall halted, Alex looked up, glaring hatefully at the centre of the web above and noticed the hydras. They orbited around the centre, twining around the webbings with movements fluid like a… snake. He'd never seen a hydra's tails. Sharp slimy split-end tips that looked like it meant to wrap, strangle and stab… or inject. A normal person would stare in horror, but Alex just thought the hydra looked more like a retarded slug that needed to be cut into unrecognizable bits… which he was about to.

_'_They _take him away from mother. Take him so far away. But he's here now. You're here now.'_

He thought of using the whipfist but changed his mind. There wasn't much space for him… too narrow. He looked crossly at the throbbing flesh-made strand and just stood straight—upside down, defying gravity as he ran up. _I need space!_ Alex thought crossly. The tentacles closed in around him, narrowing his path. _This thing is alive, remember,_ he scolded himself. He morphed his arm into a great blade and gave a surge forward. Using the blade's weight, Alex spun a full circle as he leapt, slicing through the flesh closing in on him and bursting out of the trap. Alex grabbed onto a nearby passing tentacle, stopping him mid-leap. With a quick glance around, he noticed he was directly above the cocoon. Pleased, he slid down the tentacle hanging off the ceiling, down to the heart of the throbbing web.

_'Why do you fight? Don't fight.'_

He couldn't reply since he was preoccupied cutting up a hydra that was trying to puts its mouth around his head. Its warm teeth pressed against the side of his face as he moved his arm into its throat, stabbing his blade into it as a nasty treat. A squeal filled with pain shrieked in answer. He pressed his blade deeper before pulling it out. Blade having pierced flesh, he only ended up slicing through its inside. Black liquid trailed after his blade as he pulled his arm to the far right before pulling in. He cut through the spike head of the hydra cleanly. _Great, one down,_ he thought grimly as he moved on to the other. _Three more to go._

_'Please stop.'_

The second hydra went down easily, but the third rammed into his side just as he finished its sibling. It had stabbed its spike head right beneath his ribs, and Alex took this opportunity to chop its head off, not wanting it to split open its mouth while it was poking through him. Grunting in effort as he cut through the flesh, splattering more black liquid of biomass, he couldn't turn in time when two smaller red tentacles circled around him then tightened, locking his arm to his side and him into a bind. Alex turned to stare at the perpetrator. He found the sharp small tip end of a hydra's tail… actually two sharp tips was looking at him as they tightened him in their hold. A warm breeze escaped behind him, and he guessed its head—mouth was open to swallow him whole.

_'We can be family.'_

The hydra's mouth closed in but his instinct reacted and Alex Mercer unraveled into a mass of black swirling tendrils. He, or _it,_ just simply slipped through the hydra's grip, becoming a swarm of black tentacles that easily slid around the confused Hydra. Alex emerged from the black swirling mass and shot the blade right into the hydra's back. He twisted the blade as it squirmed in front of him before it dissolved into black biomass. It wasn't dead, neither was the one he'd beheaded. They were only stunned like any headless… hydra or traumatized-by-Alex hydra would be.

_'You hurt us. You hurt us.'_

Taking advantage of the moment, Alex leaped to the cocoon, morphing his arms into claws. He began ripping through the red flesh, pulling out the tentacles fighting back feebly. A six-year-old boy emerged, unconscious and wet with blood. Alex shifted one of his arms back into normal, not wanting to harm the boy in any way when he wrapped his arm around Pariah. He pulled as he slashed the stubborn tentacles still sticking to the boy.

_'Pariah! Pariah! Goddammit! Get up! C'mon! Wake up!'_ Alex called out mentally as he pulled the boy out of the cocoon.

Pariah didn't stir. '_How the hell can you be unconscious in the mind?'_ Alex bared his teeth in frustration and put the boy over his shoulder, carrying him. He looked around for an opening in the forest of red webbings before sliding down the tentacles. Bad idea. The moment he sprinted across the tendril-covered floor, claws burst out of the floor to grab him. Alex leaped instinctively when he'd noticed a hunter—hunters clawing beneath the layer of roots, slashing at him.

_'No. Not again. He STAYS!'_

_You've got to be fucking kidding me! _He frowned darkly and quickly ducked when one of the tentacles swung at him. It ended up slamming into one of the webbings… that were again closing around him. His world tunneling into a mass of red throbbing flesh, narrowing down on him as hunters' pink arms came out all around to claw at him. He sprinted towards the dark hole at the end, tackling through number of claws, dodging enough that none touches the boy over his shoulder while ignoring the number of deep scratch they lashed out on him. The end near, he jumped into the solid darkness.

He suddenly landed flat onto a warm sticky material. He pulled his head up but ended up getting smacking back into the sticky material. Grunting, he turned his head on, fighting against the pull of the sticky strands and looked around, taking as much of his surrounding in. He grimaced. Another web… made of red biomass. It held him aloft an abyss.

"This is insane," he said. Why the hell should he indulge this insanity? Why the hell should he move? Alex began laughing. Perhaps at his position, perhaps to the darkness that surrounded him. Chased by a living abyss. Saw his sister being swallowed by Redlight. Fought to free Pariah who he still has suspicions of. Webs, tunnels, corridors, hunters, hydras, voices and noises. What's next, hmm? Blackwatch wanting to eat him! This… this was all in his head. So why should he move? Why the fuck should he CARE?!

"Giving up, Zeus?" a small slurred voice croaked somewhere behind, to his left. "Such… a," the voice panted, "weak brother."

He immediately frowned darkly at the voice. "Up and about Pariah?" he replied brightly with a vicious voice. Stuck on the web, his powers gone again, he resigned to humoring his predator's side. He enjoyed the fact he was fine—sort off, probably a bit more mentally unhinged now, but Pariah obviously wasn't better off either.

"Brain got fried," Pariah said, ignoring Alex's thought since they're technically sharing the same mental space.

"You have a brain?" he commented nonchalantly.

"You don't…," the boy groaned before saying, "and you're a dumbass for it."

Alex snorted at the boy's retort.

"New…chemical," Pariah said this weakly. "Stupid scientists…poured red stuff into my room. Blank next. A new handler then…prod me with electri…city. Ruin concentration and… mother was waiting."

He frowned at 'red stuff'. BloodTox. So Pariah stayed at his old place. Alex expected the boy at least escaped, and again Pariah did the unexpected and stupid. He would've if he were given a chance to escape a life-time of imprisonment. "You should have left Vandenberg," Alex told him dryly.

"Plan to. Not right time. Scientists were…your friends," Pariah croaked.

"Gentek," Alex growled. Those scientists again, butting in when they shouldn't have.

_'I underestimated how guarded mother can be,'_ Pariah's thought drifted, barely straight and clear. '_Especially when it concerns children…being taken away from her and vice… versa. Urgh. Got the…girl.'_ The last thought were wobbly an incoherent, but Alex understood enough. Dana. He didn't fail her.

_'Stupid thing…you did. Brought mother into…you. Drag the girl in also. Helped her, yes… but helped mother in. Links… Links… Links!'_ Pariah rambled weakly. '_Own mind…can be an enemy. Darkest fear…darkest dream come true. Chaos. Mother and mind…conspires. Conquer…mind. Win.'_

Alex pulled his head up hard from the sticky web and twisted his head. He saw the boy at the corner of his sight, laying few feet away, curled up into a white ball.

_'Keep mother…busy. Doing…fine. Just…don't lose… more. Win more._ Pariah's thought were now whispers. _Going back…to girl. Other me…guiding her… now…'_ The boy vanished suddenly as with the silence.

Screams of the damned suddenly rang out from all around the darkness. Alex just clenched his teeth in irritants.

* * *

Dark. Blue eyes opened. Grey. Shadows. Pale shadows. Plain. Head turned slightly. Eyes looked. Ceiling. Hands pressed. Hard. Cold. Metal. Backs flat on it. Where am I? She sat up slowly, and looked around. Her eyes gazed out at the room she was in. Floor tiled. Sink in the corner. Lab symbols on wall. She looked down, noticing she was sitting on a table. A metal table. For observation, her mind whispered. She had been lying on it. Her head shot up and she quickly scanned the room, noticing the glass cabinet and the rectangular metal drawers in the wall. Gazing at the size of the rectangle, she guessed it was big enough to fit a body in. _Morgue._ Realization dawned on her. _I'm in a morgue._

The sound of pattering echoed. She turned quickly to the source, noticing the open jarred door standing few feet away. Sliding over the metal edge, she put her bare feet down on the cold floor and made her way there. Her gait slow but was smooth despite the fact she must have laid on the table for hours, she guessed. Craning into the doorway, she leaned out into darkness, squinting at what looked like a corridor.

"Hello," she said softly before hesitatingly stepping out.

Clothes rustled with the sharp slapping sound of bare feet. She looked at the corner, seeing the small white feet disappearing behind it.

"Hey!" she called out before hurrying after.

She ran after the white flit, only to see it vanishing always into a corner in the distance. Turning the numbers of corners, her breathing grew heavy. She stopped and rested against a wall for a while before looking up and only to realize the front exit was before her. The glass door was opaque, hiding the outside. She pressed her hand against it and pushed. It didn't budge. She pressed with all her strength, then pulled with all her strength. Not one budge. Frowning, she turned and saw a tiny blinking light on the wall. Going toward it, she grimaced when she read the digital words 'enter code' on the keypad. Squinting in the dark, she noticed a small thumb-sized glass beneath the keypad. A thumbprint scanner?

"Well this sucks," she muttered before thinking of something. Quickly disappearing around the corner, she came back later with a metal stool from one of the lab rooms. Releasing a tiny grunt, she threw it at the glass door. A heavy THUNK and a barely cracked glass was her answer. Taking the stool by the leg and holding it up like how one would use it at a weapon, she bashed it against the glass and swore when the jarring shock traveled up her elbow. She dropped the stool immediately, hissing between her teeth as she shook her shaken arms.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang. She frowned and slowly turned to the dark corridor she'd come from. The ringing called out again, giving her the urge to run to get it. Instead of bursting into a run, she slowly followed the sound, making notes on what she passed. In the gloom, stairways emerged as with the dark trail marks dragging across the floor. She'd wisely stop at that point. The ringing continued to go on, despite the fact it's been more than two minutes. She crouched down on the dark trail and put her fingertips on it. It was gooey and sticky, proving her paranoia thoughts that it was blood. Backing away immediately, she looked at her surrounding and noticed the blood trails slid across the wall.

It could be paint? Yeah right. You've seen enough murder articles to know that marking on the floor, looks like the marking of a _bleeding_ body that was dragged. And the walls, probably a psychopath killer. Just look at how the lines dance across it. The guy is sick. She scrunched her face then noticed something else. Scratch marks on the walls that narrow down into… the blood trails. Okay.

She jumped when the phone rang again and gave a heavy exhale. With careful listening, she noted grimly it was coming from down the stairs… where the drag marks were going. The phone rang, daring her. The person's dead, and judging from the coldness of the blood, the killer would be long gone. She breathed in deeply, heart beating heavily and marched toward the ringing, careful not to step on the blood. Going down the steps carefully in the dark, she saw the hunched figure resting against the wall with the blood trail ending there. A whiff of the pungent smell and the urged to gag came strongly but she gulped it down only to increase the feeling.

"Shit hell," she whispered hoarsely as she made her way to the corpse leaning against the wall. Her bare feet stepped on the gooey dark liquid as she crouched by the corpse. Near it, she could see the detail clearly. Its head… looked like it was crushed, like some monster with big claws as hands had done it. Now she really wanted to puke.

The smell was squeezing her insides, but she held on. Her hand opening the splattered bloody white lab coat, she slid into it's inside pocket and pulled out the phone. Immediately, she backed away and ran up the stairs. Rubbing her soles of her foot roughly on the floor, she breathed in deeply then looked at the ringing phone in her hand. The screen lit with each ring. Pressing 'Accept call', she brought it to her ear only to wince at the burst of static. The croaking of a male voice could be heard under the static. A familiar male voice.

"…na…ge…out…you…Da…'

She frowned. "Alex? Is that you?"

Static hissed. "…Dana!" The phone suddenly gave an inhumane scream. A scream that send chills down her spine. If the damned in hell had screamed, that's what it would have sounded like. She shut the phone immediately.

"What the fuck is going on here?" she muttered as she stood alone in the dark corridor.


	8. Calm Before The Storm

**Calm before the Storm**

* * *

Right. _The front door is locked with a code and it has a thumb print scanner_, she thought. The code… well don't people save their password and codes in their phone? She looked down to the phone in her hand and immediately started browsing through its content. Bingo. 'Front door code' with its five-digit number lit into view. That's sorted out, but the scanner. She recalled medical tools for… vivisection at the morgue. Her stomach churned. She had found herself lying on the autopsy table.

The knife… knife, use it to cut…, she thought quickly and groaned. Use the knife to cut the dead scientist's thumb off, the one down the stairs. _Oh gross_. She gagged at the thought of it as she stood in the dark hallway._ Surely there's someone in this building,_ her mind whispered. With a dead guy here and no electricity at all for the lights, she doubted it and it was kind of saying there's a killer in its dark hallways.

"I just made myself paranoid right there," she muttered as she glanced nervously at the dark hallways in front and behind her.

She had to squint hard just to make out her surrounding. There was hardly any visibility in here, she could barely see how far the walls were. The phone had a flashlight, yes? She fingered the back where she felt two small circles. No doubt one for the camera and the other for the light. _It won't last and it's best to save its battery._ _I might need it for emergency_, she thought before starting her walk back. Woke up in a morgue, run around chasing some flitting white object, but where exactly on Earth? Was she still in New York? She hoped she was, her heart twinge uncomfortably at the thought of being far from anything familiar.

Retracing her steps back to the front door, she contemplated her choices. Search the building, find another way out or go to the morgue and get the knife? Desecrating the dead, she scrunched her face at the thought. As much as it grossed her out, it was the logical choice plus she really… didn't want to explore its dark hallway. She stared at the unnerving pitched black darkness in the gaping hallway. Goosebumps crackled up her back as the darkness gazed back at her.

"Get a fucking grip, Dana. Don't be such a whiny five year old," she muttered and closed her eyes, breathing deeply before she continued her journey back.

She wished she hadn't rushed in chasing that white flit. It was already hard to distinguish which corridor she'd came from in the dark. Dana emptied her mind instead of letting her thoughts be preoccupied. She focused deeply on the silence punctuated by the sound of her breathing. She did not want anything to surprise her, especially when there (_might be_) a killer wandering about. Worrying will just make her stomach uncomfortable.

Dana navigated through the dark hallways, following the general sense of direction where the morgue was. She wasn't lost, not yet when her brain was clearly tugging towards the general direction. Seeing the white lit familiar doorway ahead, she rushed towards it and entered the cold morgue. Her bare feet slapped on its bare tile as she went up to the metal tray beside the autopsy table. Looking at the row of knives, she chose the long double-edge, which she knew from reading medical articles in her high school days, was for amputation. The surgery blade was cold in her hand when she gripped it. She recalled the proper name for it to be Catlin or something.

Dana turned around but stopped when she noticed the brown file report sitting innocently at the edge of the tray. Gentek's logo was stamped on its front cover. Picking it up, she opened it and stared at its content. Her picture was immediately caught her attention. A picture of her lay on the autopsy table while wearing some kind of a dull black latex suit. Dana frowned and looked away from the picture, checking herself. She was wearing the very suit even now. Grimacing, she looked back at the report and gazed into its content.

"Dana. A. Mercer," she whispered as she read the report. "Codename: MOTHER."

The file slipped from her hands and she backed away, her brain thumping inside her skull as she stared at the brown file. A sudden headache blinded her and she groaned. Blindly she groped for something steady only to find herself lying on a hospital bed, her limbs too heavy to move. She was weak and tired, so tired. The noise of crying baby echoed, and it wrenched her heart when she heard it. A figure moved at the edge of her shaky vision and she stared weakly, gazing at the soldiers dressed in black. They assembled around her, guns pointing as the soldier moved at the end of her bed. His hands reached out the small crying form curled up in her clutch. She felt the brush of contact on her mouth as he took _him_ from her arm.

_No._

She moved despite the world pressing down on her. Her left hand raised from her side and snatched on one of the retreating arms. Gripping, she bit hard, teeth sinking into flesh and felt the warm liquid sliding down her throat. He struggled, flesh squirming in her teeth until he slammed his arm into her, knocking her off. She collapsed on the floor, her last strength seeping away.

Helplessly, she turned her head to gaze from the floor and saw the soldier took a blade. _No._

Blade raised up as her son helplessly lay in front of him. _No!_

Her baby cried harder, as if hearing her distress. The soldier slammed the blade down into flesh… onto his bitten arm. She couldn't see more as the dark figures of soldiers surrounded her, cutting off the view of her baby. Weakly, she moved on the floor but they held her back, one of the heavy boots pressing on her chest. She saw from between the wall of bodies, the man walking out of the room with _him_ in his clutch.

* * *

Dana breathed in and sat up quickly on the cold tile floor.

"Jesus," she whispered as she stared down at her shaking hand. "No!" she hissed to herself. "Hallucination. It was a hallucination!" She breathed in deeply and forced herself to stand up. "Fucking weird hallucination," she muttered shakily and picked up the dropped knife from the floor.

She stormed out of the morgue, hardly looking back to the file on the floor. Breathing heavily, she focused on navigating in the dark, forcing her mind from contemplating what just happened. Pale-silhouetted shapes against pitch-blackness were all she could discern on her surroundings. Dana wandered the empty hallways with one hand always on the wall. Her fingertips slid across it coarse surface and the sensation kept her senses steady. Miraculously, she was able to find her way in the dark, passing by the familiar front exit.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered to herself with her phone in one hand, and the knife in the other. She retraced her steps back to the dead body, and the thought of having to approach the dead guy made a small whining noise escaped from her throat, but she quickly gulped it down. She needed to breathe through her mouth if she didn't want to smell the stench. "I really can't believe I'm doing this," the grimaced words escaped again from her mouth as she gazed into the dark. The pale silhouette of the body waiting, sat slouched against the wall at the bottom the stairs.

_The guy is not going to get up all of sudden like some freaky zombie movie!_ Her mind scolded her and she promptly went down the steps, wanting to get the gore over with.

Squinting in the dark, her shaky hand wrapped themselves around the cold rubbery wrist of the dead. Placing the hand on the floor, she pressed the tip of the knife then slammed it into flesh with all her weight. A hard crack was her reward and with a bit of… sawing she was able to free the thumb from the hand. Once done, she quickly snatched the severed thumb with her bloody hand and ran upstairs.

"Sick," she muttered deliriously as she hurried through the corridor. "Too much blood…" Her lips trembled as she felt the cold thick texture of blood on her hands with the thumb firmly inside of one of them.

She ran into one of the empty lab room and immediately hurried to the sink in the corner. Turning the tap on, water gushed out and she slid in her hands into it, grateful at the refreshing coldness wiping away the gritty feeling of blood. The cold water numbed her hands, steadying the shaking. Carefully she washed the thumb while making a face.

"I am a sick person," she muttered numbly as she stared at the severed thumb in her hand.

_Just get it over_, her logical brain reminded. Hurrying back to the front door, she paused at the key pad. Her brain buzzed at her. She'd forgotten something. The fucking phone! She groaned. She had left it near the corpse when doing the messy… job. Hurrying back down the stairways, she squinted in the dark and found the pale rectangular object lying by the feet of the dead guy. Snatching it, she hurried back, the soles of her feet more stained with blood than ever. Rubbing the thumb on hers in order to get the natural body oil on it, she pressed it against the scanner and quickly jabbed the code into the keypad.

The sound of beeping and a blink of green light flashed on the keypad's screen. CLEARANCE, the bright word of freedom flashed and relief washed into her. Dropping the thumb, Dana rushed to the door with phone in hand, and shoved it open. The gust of cold wind rushed and the sound of helicopter blade cut into the silence. Bright light suddenly glared onto her and she quickly shielded her eyes. Through her fingers, she saw the silhouette of a black Apache surrounded by the tall familiar sight of New York's building.

Apache… she has seen them before. Blackwatch favorite type of helicopter. Not good. She backed away, and turned around. Perhaps it was wiser to stay inside. She grabbed the door and pulled. Unfortunately, it remained stuck in its place. Lock again.

"Goddamn," she swore and spun around only to hear the sound of bullets firing.

Of all things to happen, her brain had to stop working right at that moment as the bullet zipped across the pavement, travelling up towards her.

_Run! Dammit! Run!_ Her brain suddenly screamed. _Run!_ Dana burst into a sprint as a zip of bullet grazed right behind her neck. She sprinted toward the corner ahead as the world around her blinding bright under the Apache's glaring eye. Somewhere in the distant, a bloodcurdling roar bellowed, catching the attention of the Apache. _That's no animal!_ She thought frantically as she sprinted, not wanting to risk the chance of being shot at.

She ducked into a long alleyway, and saw ahead the sad remains of a brick wall. Careful on the rubble as she rushed over them and meandered into a street filled with empty cars. Looking up in a hurry, she saw a white flit darting into one of the surrounding buildings. She followed after it, ducking into the doorway and rushed up the stairs only to wince at the distant boom._ Something had exploded, probably the Apache,_ she thought frantically.

Reaching the top of the narrow stairways of some apartment building, her breathing too heavy, her lungs gasping for air and her muscles screaming for more oxygen, she stopped and slid down against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Slowly her breathing returned to normal with the sound of blood rushing in her ear. She listened and heard only silence besides the roaring of her blood rushing. New York had never been this quiet before. It felt… abandoned. Was it still New York?_ More like the apocalypse, or post apocalyptic nightmare,_ she thought wryly as she wrapped her arms around her knee. _Call your brother._

She looked down on the black screen phone beside her. Taking it up, she pressed the screen, lighting it up. There was a measly signal. Half-heartedly she tapped in the number before pulling it up to her ear. The dial tone beeped before cutting off sharply. Her heart soared.

"Alexander here, leave a mess—" she groaned. Fucking voicemail. She has been hearing his voicemail ever since… ever since... _Better not think about it_, she thought bitterly and cut off the call.

_THUMP!_ Dana immediately stood up and stared at the ceiling. More smashing noises crashed about, shaking the floor beneath her bare feet. It sounded like something huge was tearing through the walls… or floors.

Backing away as she moved from the stairs, she hurried deeper into the corridors, passing by doors flung open and deserted apartments. _The fire escape_, she thought quickly as the sound of crashing above followed her. The ceiling burst, sending her stumbling onto the floor with splinters and rubble showering on her. She covered her head and eyes instinctively from dust and rubble. Through the gaps between her fingers, Dana saw the fleshy creature.

A thin sheen of pinkish slime covered its grey skin that more reminded her of the flesh of a dead corpse. Its humanoid body distorted into a posture like that of a gorilla but its face… scrunched up like someone had mushed it as if it was a dough, resulting in a monster who eyes lost somewhere within messy lines between the swollen flesh of its cheek and forehead. Its stalactite teeth were enormous as it gaped, mouth yawning impossibly wide and the thing roared down from the gaping hole in the ceiling, spraying thick drops of saliva while shaking the floor and walls around her.

Dana screamed as she saw its thick webbed paws lunge to grab her. Her back flat against the floor, she did the only thing she could do. She rolled away to the side, banging against the wall as the grey fleshy monstrosity smashed into her once occupied spot. Fortunately, the floor broke under it and it disappeared down below.

Naturally, she scrambled away and ran off without looking back. She sprinted through the corridors, her eyes flitting up ahead. Violent crashing below followed her steps, the sound of walls broken through as it stalked from beneath. A claw burst through the floor before her but her legs reacted. She jumped as it snatched the empty air. _Holy fucking shit!_ Dana mentally screamed as she felt the graze whipping past her feet.

She landed on her feet with a jarring shock running up her legs, making her stumble. Dana sprinted on. She needed to. She had to. She couldn't stop especially when she heard the sound of crashing and clawing almost behind her. She turned quickly to her right when reaching the end of the straight corridor, skidding across the floor at the corner. She rushed ahead, the world blurring around her in her panic but she wasn't blind enough to notice the exit sign.

Without stopping to open the door, she slammed her body against the emergency exit, flinging it open. Dana hurried down the stairways, more like jumping over the steps without caring if she slipped or fall. She past one level down and promptly the concrete wall behind her broke with a burst. An angry roar and the concrete stairs cracked at the pounding of its claws snatching after her._ Oh my god!_ _OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod! OH MY GOD! _Dana held back the urge to scream out of her mind and just desperately continued her scramble down the stairs. She needed her breath to escape that... that thing!

Equally persistent as her, the monster scraped after her through concretes and steel, ignoring the dilemma of the stairway's narrowed space. As the creature pound the thick barring stairway concretes into pieces, Dana was already on the ground floor, rushing out into the alleyway. Her heart hammered against her ribcage, her head pounded, her lungs screamed for air inside her but she hurried on, to the open wide streets ahead; the air surreal in its silence as she ran onto the street side. In a haze of panic Dana ran, her eyes darting for escape, for something secure, something that won't break under the pounding of a monster.

* * *

A sharp sting prodded his side and he yelped. His concentration ruined. _Again! _He snapped his eyes back open, only to stare at the glazed mask of the black suit-clad personnel. A group of personnel had surrounded him with stun baton sparking, the deadly blue electric streaking around the end of the black stick. Pariah eyed them through the powdery red presence polluting his room. That damn BloodTox was making it hard for him to _breathe_.

"Playing possum won't help, kid," growled the one in front of him in a muffled voice.

Pariah only tilted his head at that as he leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. He sat there like a doll abandoned and saw from the corner of his sight, one of the stun batons moved. The boy lunged forward at that moment. The stun baton missed the white blur and he crashed on the forefront of the group, sending the body skidding across the floor with him crouched on top. A sharp jab from his small fingers, he punched through the fabric of their thick suit and injected his virus before any hands could reach for their guns. He immediately got up and scrambled away, before turning around to stare sharply at the group of personnel.

Silence, his heavy breathing punctuated the stilled air. The group of personnel quickly turned but kept cautiously back. The boy was known to break his handlers into jabbering sobs. They only needed to make a direct contact with the boy's fingers, and then they go insane.

Wisely, they stood there, baton raised guardedly as they heard their comrade croaked while jerking violently before the boy's feet. The noise stopped, the body stilled until the boy backed away, to give space for it. It rose, jerking slightly as if in spasm before standing smoothly straight. Their comrade was fine but it promptly mirrored their guarded stance, facing _them_. With a rustle from gears, guns were pulled out and now aiming at their _turned _comrade.

Pariah just walked away before sitting down on the other end of the room, as if to watch the show. On cue, gunfire burst but the body tanked through the bullets. Metal ringed and the sound of bone cracked. One soldier down with a combat knife in his head. Now the infected soldier looked more like a walker with all the bullet holes in him. Didn't stop it, though. It lunged at the others with inhuman speed. Literally grabbing onto one personnel's head as its victim struggled. A crack could be heard as it twisted the head hard. The walker moved on to others, more holes than ever, bleeding black liquid that moved across the floor.

With a charge, the walker slammed the third personnel into the wall, cracking the concrete while ignoring the bullets puncturing into flesh. Crushing its victim as an agonized scream escaped, the walker _unraveled_ into black liquid and the black mass swallowed the screaming man whole. Muffled shouting could be heard inside it as the thing writhed where it stood. Tendrils and tentacle emerged out of black mass, wriggling and clawing out to the air as if trying to escape. The thing still ignored the bullets puncturing into it.

Slowly, this time, it _slid_ across the room as if the extra flesh collected was weighing it down. One of the last two soldiers turned around immediately for the exit, screaming at it to open. The other rushed with stun baton sparking and slammed the baton into the thing, hoping to shock its nerves. Only the baton ended up sinking in as if he had just stabbed into mud. Tendrils travel up the tool and grabbed onto the gripping gloved hand.

The soldier pulled back sharply but the tendrils had already become part of his hand, having dug through the fabric of suit and now in his flesh. It reeled its prize, and helplessly the soldier struggle as his baton was sucked in, then his wrist into writhing mass of tentacles. More screaming came as black tendrils burst out of the soldier's body as he became one with the mass.

Pariah hardly paid any attention to it, not even the screaming of the last of his handlers. He was busy recalling the layout of his prison, trying to remember every piece of information he had tapped from the minds he had infected. With a creased frown, he focused back and noticed the infected was now a black puddle on the floor. Almost covering one third of the room as it digest the last of dead bodies around. He directed it with his mind and like a loyal… goop, it gathered into a thick moving black sludge and slid across the white floor, going toward his door. Climbing up the silver steel surface, it covered and hardened into a thick black carapace material, forming a barrier against any intruders.

_It won't last, but it'll do_, he thought silently before sitting back in the middle of the room. There were so many things he could do with his own mind, but he needed _all_ his attention if he's going to win. In all her imperfection, Mother was still a superorganism. Its mind is omniscient to those it infected and rightfully, that made her mind technically _alien_, Pariah recalled the appropriate words.

And here he was, trying to win a game against her… again. Hopefully, he won't need to pay the price. Not like last time… Zeus doesn't deserve it, not with the mess he called his mind. No doubt, he was the sum of instability in humankind. The murderous rampage, the unnecessary slaughter he'd done in the name of hunting. One man's sociopathic mindset was enough, but a bunch of them? Zeus should have fallen into a creature of design the more he consumed, into another hunter following his nature only to be culled by another instinct, by a girl and… something else.

The boy frowned. Pariah couldn't blame Zeus, he could emphasize but he pitied him more. So many monsters Zeus held inside of him, so many of them he'd face. And this time, Pariah sighed, he can't shun them out or ignore them. And mother… mother loved them… these monsters. Pariah's face darkened. She loved the world, the good and the bad, especially the bad.

She thought them as lost children. Weak, pitiful children that needed their mother, that needed her. He only saw them as scum. She saw something he could not; hope probably that her _touch_ could change the dark part of humankind, their _noisy_, _annoying_, _pesky_ nature. It was why she tried. It's why she _will_ try for Zeus… for her _wayward_ son for she feared _for him_ more than she feared him. There was no denying it. Mother loved her children equally. Pariah thought sadly. She loved them so much… the seeds… the virus inside her, the children she envisaged and carried within her mind; the ones that clawed the inside of her skull, that begged to get out, to be flesh. Yet she stood firmly in waiting, bearing the cries of her children and he had watched her from the distant.

He had watched his mother clutch her hair that some tear from her head in her frustration at waiting… or was it her children's frustration? Or was it because of _him_, Pariah pondered humorously as he remembered his rebellious age. He had watched her sitting in the same room like his, huddled and curled up, crooning mentally at the children inside her, at him even though vast distances were between mother and son. He had watched her when _her_ voice drowned and changed as the virus in her mutated.

Greene was his mother, not _theirs_. She was _his _only_._ It was something he cherished when he was young. He had nothing. He owned nothing so he was always obsessive once he possessed something. Greene treated him differently, Redlight treated him the same as any other children of hers. Redlight reprimanded him for being selfish to the _family_, the _annoying_, _pesky_ family that was always crying and wailing… Greene just softly reminded him that they were his siblings, siblings that accompany him in his lonesome, solitude childhood.

But she disappeared, her loving whispers becoming like a broken record, something repeated, something that lost its meaning. His mother was replaced, became an imperfect copy of herself. The _original_ mind now just a whisper in the current one. She was hardly real to him anymore than the hallucinations he suffered when he was young. Then, Pariah wondered… what's stopping Zeus from becoming another broken copy of those minds he consumed? How is it that he was still standing, still _defined_ himself _separate_, from thinking _we_ instead of _I_.

He was an interesting sibling, and a whole lot more _real_. And the girl… oh the poor, poor girl. Too bad she has to be his sister now, but then that made her a _family_, his thoughts deadpanned. And you always have to take care of the _family_ and he _will_. Pariah narrowed his eyes. They turned green… like his mother's.

* * *

"Report, Castle," the radio hissed.

Lt. Clint Riley stood on the abandoned streets, under the dark stormy New York sky. The roads clear of vehicles and flesh, only the buildings stood as testament against the Outbreak.

"All seems clear, sir," Riley said as a group of Blackwatch joined back. "It seems—"

The ground rumbled and shook. Riley looked up sharply in time to hear a huge screech and bulbous overgrown flesh bursting out of the road before them.

"Sir, we've got a fucking problem," he said as they all took step back, guns rising and tanks aiming. The thing just reared its ugly 'head' up from the asphalt rubble. "Mother's pet is back," Riley said, not liking this, at all.

* * *

**Fucking mistakes man! **


	9. Calm Before The Storm (Part Two)

**Thanks coincedencless for beta'ing and giving out advice. (I bet you winced at my errors.) Seriously, how do you put up with me whining at my own fic?**

**And thanks for those who reviewed, you guys actually kept my hope up on this fic. Especially you, coincidencless. Love ya. ****(I wanted to kill it. No seriously. I wanted to kill it. AND **THERE I SAID THE 'L' WORD!)

* * *

**Blacklight kills, Redlight changes**

* * *

_He walked into the cluttered room, his body free from the parasite but not his mind. The last time they met, Dana had a horrified look and it was aimed at… him. And that image… it always welled up out of nowhere, into his thoughts just when he was about to consume some bystander, or take glee in destroying helicopters while hearing Blackwatch screaming while being burnt alive. Every sadistic joy he used to have, was now always interrupted by her face._

_He wondered why. Why was his mind doing something like this? Why was it behaving like this? Why did it make him sick every other time when he looked back at his actions._

_He used to take satisfaction or became strangely fascinated at his work but now… it seemed wrong and he realized why. It wasn't… normal. It wasn't what a… normal person should do. It was monsters do. Monsters. With this heavily in his thoughts, he walked in and looked up only to see Dana sitting by the worn leather couch, the opposite end of the room where she usually sat by the laptop. She stoop up immediately when he slowly approached, not wanting to scare her like last time._

_They stood there, in front of each other. Awkward and silent._

_"So um…" she began hesitantly, "what did Ragland have to say?" _How are you?_ She stepped forward a bit and stared at him, worried. That worried look, Alex looked down at his leather shoe then back up. It was wrong for him to scare her like that. It was wrong for him to worry her like that. It was wrong. Simple as that. Just wrong._

_"Dana." He raised his arms as if to brace himself, "I'm sorry," he told her. The arms shrugged before they placed back at his side, useless against the tension in the air. "I didn't know how to tell you," he said, the words heavy with this… guilt as he said this to his little sister, the only one now in his life. Trustworthy, constant, safe in this room, in this world. Safe. "I need to know why." He gazed at her but she looked away slightly. "They made me this way." He walked closer to her, his legs heavy. "And I need to understand," he told her softly, keeping his gaze on her while she, avoided his eyes._ Please understand.

_He needed to understand what he was becoming. It confused him. He took glee in taking lives, yet after he was remorseful. Was it the infection that made him this way or was it himself? What kind of monster will he be if this… infection finished its job? What must he do in the end if it meant to keep her safe, from being frightened ever again… by him. He didn't want her to give that look again. It worried him. It… hurt him. He feared for her. And he was scared for some reason._

_He didn't understand these emotions yet they were there._

_"It's alright, Alex," Dana spoke up softly when she looked back up, raising her hands slightly, pushing away the air slightly—at his worries. "It's fine." She gazed back at him. "Look, no matter what, you're still my brother," she said, her eyes understanding._

_Relief washed through him, immense relief and—his skin prickled for some reason and snapped his sight onto the ceiling._

_"What is it?" Dana asked, concerned._

_"Shh, wait!" he hissed as he slowly turned his head, cocking slightly to hear._

_There was a soft thump. There! He frowned. "Hold on," he told his sister softly and glanced around sharply as she frowned at his sudden reaction._

Something's wrong, his instincts screamed.

_The world exploded, throwing him off and across the room. He immediately looked up sharply and through smokes and debris, a giant slimy paw grabbed hold of the slim figure of his sister. No! NOOO!_ _Alex got up quickly off the floor but stood still at the sight before him. The huge grey monster growled as Dana screamed in the background while she writhed in the monster's hold._

_He can't attack, not when she's there. She will get hurt._

_In his indecision, the huge Hunter roared and with a spin, it rushed out of the safe house, launching out from the hole in the wall… with his sister._

_"DANA!" He screamed at the sight of her disappearing and chased after, leaping out of the safe house._

No, he knew. He knew. He'd done this before. This was just a memory. He knew how this ended. He finds her in the end. Fine. If Greene wants to play, he could turn the board around. This was his memory after all.

_The missile hit its mark and an explosion burst, blasting a hole into the Core Hive. He got out of the tank, immediately sprinting across the field of infected, ducking under thrown debris from Hydras and dodging the swipes of hunters. Without further ado, he leaped into the hole and landed in a foyer with its ceiling missing. With a blink, he narrowed his infected vision on a small glowing yellow figure waiting in the deeper, armored side of the building. Making his way there, stepping over rubble and throbbing red masses of roots, he meandered through the wreckage before jumping down a hole in the floor._

_He landed in another dark foyer, or was it another corridor. It didn't matter. It looked the same to him. He looked around in the gloomy depth of the building. The windows layered with red masses of tentacles that made it impossible to tell if he was near the edge of the building, or somewhere in the middle. But he knew he was at its center, because as he made his way here, he found the walls and floors were getting more armored. Almost the same strength like the exterior of this building. Almost._

_Frowning, Alex spotted the door that led to the core of the hive, nearly covered by tentacles. He would have missed it as another wall of tentacles if it weren't for its metal sheen. Alex made his way over there. Morphing his arm into its clawed form, he ripped and shredded the tentacles in his way before slamming the door open._

Alex frowned again at another hallway infested and covered with red throbbing roots. A maze. She made a maze out of his memory. Alex snapped his head sharply at the roots-covered ceiling.

"You want to play this game, Greene!" he roared at the omniscient presence watching him. "It don't matter where you hide, I will find you!" he snarled at the hidden eye.

"Alex?" a small soft voice called in the dark depths of the hallway.

_'It needn't be this way.'_ He ignored the voices.

Dana. He immediately ran toward the voice and barged through a door at the end. The darkness was less here. The ceiling had a hole barely armored with the roots still trying to cover the damage done. He searched around, slowly his steps and noticed a small figure seated up, her body curled, as if she was making herself a small target on the tentacle-infested floor. Dana.

He rushed over to her, calling out softly, "Hey, hey." Crouching down by the curled body, he reached out gently.

Why isn't she responding? Why isn't she answering? "Dana!" he called out worriedly and placed his hand on her shoulder.

The head moved and his sister looked up. "Alex," she breathed his name and immediately grabbed him. He tensed but relaxed when she pressed against his chest, shaking as she hugged him.

He held onto her, putting his arms around her slowly.

"I'm infected, aren't I?" her voice muffled when she said this into his chest.

Was this just a sick twisted memory?

"Yes," he answered her question slowly.

Her shoulder shook more and her voice shake when she said, "Kill me then."

"No!" he pulled her back and looked at her.

Dana's eyes were red from crying with her face pale as if the blood had run out of her. "The voices, Alex," she breathed like a worn out person. She wasn't even looking at him at all as if she had grown far too tired. "They won't stop and sometimes I have nightmares, nightmares of them chasing me." Tears started to spill more openly. "This is fucked up," she sobbed and covered her face.

He looked at her helplessly as she cried. "I can make them stop," he told her, desperate. "I can stop Greene."

"And the infection?" Dana breathed in heavily and looked up, staring sharply at him. "I know what she's doing, Alex," she said and gazed back at him with green eyes, Greene's eyes. "She's changing me… making me like her," she told him, her voice serious. "You know what you have to do."

No. Her little sister asking him this. No. He shook his head and pulled back from her. No. He paced back and forth in front of her. No.

_'She can stay alive. She can stay family.'_

He froze. And let her remained infected? But he could stop it! But what if he couldn't. What if Redlight remained adamant in sticking in her body… like some cancer.

"There is no other way!" Dana shouted at him.

"You can still get through this!" he shouted back but she glared back at him. He looked away. "I can stop it," he breathed this. If he couldn't rid it, he could still make it harmless.

_'But they won't see it that way.'_ The world will continue seeing her infected. _'She will still love you. She will understand if you couldn't. She will learn to live.'_

Alex turned back and looked at Dana who glared at him with green eyes. Greene's eyes. Greene's eyes.

"You're not her, aren't you?" he hissed this when he realized where the whispers were coming from.

Dana opened her mouth. "What are you talking about, Alex!"

"Dana wouldn't ask me to do such thing," he said this slowly as he approached her, narrowing his icy blue eyes.

"Alex?" She slowly backed away at the look on his face.

Now she's scared when she had asked for it. It doesn't add up. What if she is Dana? He stopped and looked at her helplessly.

"You ask for something I can't do," he told her. "Why would you ask something like that?" he demanded. This was just a nightmare. He understood now. He understood it perfectly.

"Alex," she began, "I—" she gasped and stared at the claws in her chest then back up at his face in front of her.

He couldn't help but say it. This was Dana… "I'm sorry," he told her softly even knowing she was just some kind of twisted memory that Greene was using against him.

She melted in his grip, melted into a red mass on the floor. He stared at it for a while before glaring at the ceiling. Greene was just trying to get under his skin, trying to trap him, trying to stop him.

Sick, twisted little bitch… he glared at the melting scene around him, disappearing into a swirl of red tentacle in his sight.

_'Let go of her, Greene!'_ he mentally snarled.

Alex opened his eyes. Through a red haze, he was standing in a broken world infested with throbbing tentacles and roots. A nightmare version of Hope, Alex thought when he watched the red webbed roots grew over the ruins of the old town.

"Alex!" A cheerful voice called out.

Dana? Alex looked ahead at the intersection, at a strange clearing the red haze did not cover and the roots didn't grow. It was like, a segment of a memory at a different place, different time have been placed there. A little girl waited at the intersection, under the odd sunlight while the surrounding was gloomed by the apocalyptic red clouds. She was smiling cheerfully and waving. It was Dana, the younger version of her and she was… smiling at him.

He walked over to the clearing and stepped inside, but stopped when he noticed wherever his feet stepped in the clearing, black tendrils grew out from the sole of his shoes, casting their webs of tentacles. And Redlight was taking advantage on that, sliding and joining their webs, tainting the clean clearing. He looked up and scowled deeply when he noticed Greene standing in front of the girl.

_'I'm your mother.'_ Her voice spoke with the lapse of thousands of others wailing.

The girl stepped back from the woman, not convinced.

_"Who's she?"_ She frowned and looked to Alex.

Alex opened his mouth but groaned when memories smacked him.

_"Don't talk to strangers, Dana!" he scowled and hurried to her, pulling her away from the woman._

_"Young man, I just want to talk." The woman frowned when she stood up before Dana. "Where do you get those bruises?" the woman squinted on the marks on his neck._

_"It's none of your business," he snapped as he pulled his sister behind. "We're late, and we better go home," he told Dana, but it was more for the woman._

_"But—" Dana began when he pulled her along by the wrist._

_"No buts!"_

_Dana winced and a bit of him regretted that, but he kept his face still as they walked._

_"She could have taken you away right there," he hissed this to her softly while his back burned from the woman's watchful eyes._

_"She can't do that, can she?" Dana's face twisted, upset at this._

_"She can and she would have," Alex said to her. "If we're going to get out of that miserable house, it will be under my call. Got it?" he glared at her until she nodded._

_Dana looked down under her brother's gaze, her steps following her brother's lead._

Alex opened his eyes slowly and without reason, the words poured out of his mouth, _"Don't believe her words, Dana!"_ his voice overlapped by a younger voice… one he did not recognize yet knew.

The girl stepped back from Greene more.

_"Dana, run! Get out of the room!"_ he shouted at the same time with the voice.

A streak of fear flashed across Dana's face when she heard this as Greene stepped forward, spreading her own red web on the twisted, distorted memory. For young Dana it was like one of those horrible nights. Those nights Alex would face their mother and she would be in the room of the crime just before it spirals down.

_"OUT!"_ he and the younger voice roared.

Dana suddenly sprinted away from Greene and vanished entirely. Greene spun around sharply, and glared at him.

_'You are not my son!'_ she hissed and suddenly stood in front of him, clutching his throat and choking Alex as her nails dig in, spreading red tendrils across his pale skin. _'Which one of you spoke through him?!'_ she glared, searching something on Alex's face as he felt being crushed—not by the throat, but on his very being in the dream.

_"Me, you bitch!"_ a young voice came from behind Greene.

Alex's eyes widened when the teenage boy behind, raised the baseball bat and smashed it across Greene's head, throwing her off Alex, and sending her crumbling to the ground, bleeding by the head.

_"Stay away from Dana! Or I'll find you in your home and fuck you up!"_ the boy snarled at the unconscious body, only for it to collapse into red tentacles. Like worms, it slid away quickly, avoiding the boy's wrath. The teen spun around and faced Alex with those recognizable angry blue eyes, his eyes. _"What the hell are you looking at!"_ he snapped and spat at Alex's feet before running away.

Looks like when a Mercer snaps, vulgarity becomes normal. Must be in the family. Alex stared after the fading memory. Alex couldn't help but imagine this boy meeting his future self—his maker, the real Alex Mercer. They probably won't get along at all, especially the kid if he was to see what type of brother he was in the future. But he had to ask himself, was this Alex Mercer as projected by him, or by Dana? The answer was clear. Alex glanced at the small movement in the corner, little Dana peeking from the corner before widening her eyes, and disappearing. That was Dana's Alex. Perhaps a bit of his… from the remnants he didn't know he had.

"This place is fucked up," Alex growled and covered his forehead. He felt like he was violating some sacred ground, some memories Dana had kept locked. He felt like an infection in her mind. "Dana, where are you?" he breathed and looked up at the infection hellscape.

It went on. Greene tried to stop him. He played for a while but he got out. He found her again and said the cruel words, _'Not your mother.'_ He showed her truth: the cruel, bleak childhood.

_'I'm your mother,'_ Greene would whisper in Dana's most traumatic moment and give a loving hand to soothe the memory away, to be replace by a sense of connection, of love from a mother, from a family.

_'Not your mother,'_ Alex would interfere and point her real memories, force her to watch her own brother being beaten up from under a table.

The smash of glasses, the yellings, the painful reminders of bruises on skin, the nights hiding, Alex had to show all. And Greene, Greene was opening wounds and taking advantage of it. Alex was simply stopping her… with the price of feeling Dana's painful childhood.

Memories of a lonely child who cling on to a brother that left her in the future, memories he was stumbling through.

Wandering in some type of hallway, Alex tried to cover his ears at the sound of childhood abusement. He winced at every sound of bottle smashing. He winced at the rise of volume in a drunkard's voice. Dana experienced hell in her childhood and Alex was reminding her of it, reminding her of what her brain chooses to forget, and yet she got through this hell of living in a Mercer's household.

Alex slammed his fist against the wall, his other hand covering his face. He groaned heavily and slid down onto the floor. The headache immense, pounding, throbbing on his very being. His mind wanting to pull him out of Redlight's hellscape, but he had to fight the pull at the same time resist Redlight's enticing whispers. He could hear them, the voices. All talking… all whispering the reason. So deafening, so hard to think and hear his own thoughts, his own mind while lost in the sea of Redlight.

And Dana faced this twenty four hours since Greene infected her. She. Faced. This. Alex inhaled deeply as he leaned heavily against a wall.

_'How did you do it?'_ he asked this to no one.

_'You just do.'_

He turned slightly, gazing at a boy in white. Pariah leaned against the wall beside him.

_'One scientist thought you as the final purpose of all life on earth,'_ Alex murmured this softly _'I say that's hard to believe,'_ he snorted and looked back at the morphing hellscape. It was like the landscape itself was shapeshifting. He could see flickers of red tentacles weaving together, resembling themselves into objects, buildings and the grounds also.

_'I didn't let myself use that much power, Zeus, which what _they_ would want,'_ Pariah told him. _'So I didn't get to experiment what I'm capable off or find out whatever I am. I hold myself back.'_ The boy gave him a sidelong glance before frowning at what he'd said. _'And if I am the final purpose, the ultimate life form; it would mean the end of evolution, the end of changing,'_ the boy examined his own small hand then looked at Alex. _'And that means the end of everything. Purpose and life. It'll make me _stagnant_ and that's not the way to live.'_ The boy shook his head, placing his hand back onto his lap. _'Nature is always about cycles, changes, even if it's a fall back, but rises exists too. All of this is just movements, basically, and that's more interesting than being the final purpose of life,'_ Pariah told him.

A point, a good point._ 'Where did you learn all this?'_ Alex snorted at hearing this.

Pariah smiled. _'When you live a life surrounded by scientists, you need to know how and what they're thinking so you can be one step ahead of whatever they're planning,'_ the boy said._ 'So many discussions they had. What am I? Who am I? What can I do? What is my existence for? What exactly does my body do? How, when, if, can,'_ the boy listed on then stopped. _'Here's a motivation, Zeus.'_

Alex raised an eyebrow at this.

_'Fail, and Redlight will make another me.'_

He looked up sharply and glared at Pariah. _'What do you mean?'_ he demanded sharply.

_'I'm a runner's child. How I originated is completely different. While other children had both parents, I only have one, biologically,'_ Pariah told him this grimly.

_'No father?'_

_'I didn't come into existent from the union of an egg and a sperm, not like the other Hope children,'_ the boy said flatly. _'No, Elizabeth Greene needed no father at all._' Pariah stared at the hellscape._ 'The virus did something to her body that it made her capable being pregnant without a partner. I was just the one cell amongst the many that's hers, but unlike others, the virus rewrites completely that it was totally different to her altered DNA so I'm not just a 'natural' clone of hers,' _Pariah explained. _'It mutated things so much, even changed the shape of the chromosomes. It made me a 'human' male, or close as it could.'_The boy smirked then frowned. _'Or maybe gender doesn't apply to us since we're technically what they called the 'third' gender, literally.'_ The boy smiled, recalling a scientist's comment about the chromosomes in his cells.

_'Redlight can change things that much?'_ Alex murmured. Blacklight's capability or _limits_ were basically unknown. Redlight was vague to the least, and here was a boy spouting facts.

_'The virus rewrites and repurposed everything, changing the natural chemical process within the body,'_ Pariah thought about it. _'So I guessed the eggs produced had all the genetic materials instead of half.'_ He shrugged and looked at Alex.

_'Go on,'_ Alex flicked with his eyes in respond.

_'It's then rewritten and activated by the virus.'_ Pariah continued,_ 'Each not the same but each works hard to make the egg they're paired with, stronger. Then mitosis happens. But I suppose it didn't stop there. Each cell produced, each it altered, mutate, changed, and then I came into being. The other "failed" eggs were eliminated_.' Grimly, he told,_ 'and waste not, want not, it probably got consumed… by me to make me grow,'_ the boy went quiet.

Alex frowned and glanced at the boy, noticing his eyes into the distant, probably thinking about those eggs that were his brothers and sisters.

_'Whatever it did, it was to find which variant was the strongest,'_ the boy said._ 'It was a big risk what the virus was doing. Practically eating her just to spawn variants of virus, just to find the one that makes... me,'_ the boy stated flatly. _'But it'd changed her so that she can handle the biological war happening in her,'_ Pariah said before fixing his gaze on Alex. _'I'm just saying you should expect the girl being pregnant in the future if Redlight is given free rein.'_

Alex glowered at that fact. He was not going to let a monster born from his sister's genetic code.

Pariah clapped his small hands together right in front of him, startling his focus back. _'You're not going to be an uncle if you can help it,'_ the boy told him.

Alex stared at Pariah. _'You're just screwing with my head, right?' _he said slowly to the boy.

_'No.'_ Pariah gave him a grim look. _'They didn't codename Greene MOTHER for nothing, y'know. Actually,'_ the boy added thoughtfully,_ 'they should've codenamed mother Virgin Mary because of that,'_ he mused aloud. _'If Redlight wins, the girl will be the reincarnation of mother. It wouldn't matter if the girl has the right genes or not, as long she gets the girl's mind first then her brain, she can actually command the girl's body immune system to shut down, keep it from interrupting her when the times come. Sort off like how you came to be._' Pariah looked at him._ 'The body was dying, the immune system shut down, no interruption from the body and it has unique biology that made Blacklight manifest successfully.'_

Alex thought about it. What kept Dana from becoming just another infected? What if Greene failed? Except the Redlight virus in Dana was not behaving like the usual virus that infested the streets of Manhattan. _'Greene gave a special strain of her virus,'_ Alex whispered in realization. He should have known. Dana was not going to fail. She is _certain_ to become mother if he failed.

Alex stood up. He was in a clearing, where the street's intersection was fully contaminated, overran by Redlight's throbbing web.

_'You should infect her.'_

Alex spun around and noticed the six-year-old boy standing not far to his right. The boy stared curiously at the webbed road, gazing at the hellscape with haunted eyes. It disappeared in a blink when the boy focused back on him.

_'It will make it easier, safer too for you and for her,'_ Pariah told him and looked up with a pair of green eyes, his mother's eyes.

_'It will be the last thing I ever do if I have to save her,'_ Alex replied briskly and looked away from the boy.

_'Why is it you're so stubborn about infecting the girl?'_ Pariah asked in an annoyed and curious tone.

He didn't answer. Why should he and it was an unnecessary question too ask. Besides, it was far too personal for him.

_'Well, at least you're reminding the girl who she is even though they were miserable memories of her childhood,'_ Pariah sighed. _'You're even doing well against mother.'_

Alex winced at that. _'I barely know what I'm doing.'_ The virus finally admitted gruffly, and he hated it to.

_'So did I for my first time. And mother crushed me because of that.'_

Alex shot a glance at Pariah. The boy was staring at the hellscape hatefully. A disgusted look twisted his face.

_'This was my playground did you know that? Mother would bring me here, and here I was free from my prison,'_ Pariah told him.

'_Why are you telling me this?'_ Alex asked, curious and unnerved at the boy's… honesty.

_'To make you understand,'_ Pariah answered numbly. _'This is how mother works. She offers love, safety, freedom and happiness. You refuse those, she traps you. I was reduced to an autistic boy until my mind finally put me back together, and it was hard work too._' The boy sniffed._ 'Had to face nightmare after nightmare, twisted versions of me, monstrous copies of me—or was it my siblings?'_ he pondered on this_. 'It was like mother was building up a new mind, a new sentience to put into my body. She was trying to _change_ me.'_ His tone turned flat. _'That's what you get for being too stubborn and smart for your own good.'_ An old, dry chuckle came from him.

_'You're saying somewhere in Dana's mind, there's a twisted version of her.'_ Alex frowned.

_'No. For now, there's only a voice, a presence of that "true daughter"_. _But weak,_' the boy told him._ 'Not strong enough yet, not separate. You could say, she's a part of the girl that she doesn't show,_' Pariah answered. _'She's the voice of Greene yet also the girl's. She's her yet not her,'_ the boy said in riddle.

_'Get to the point!' _Alex demanded crossly.

Pariah gave him a sidelong glance. _'Humans have many faces. They're complicated creatures. There's a part of them that they are embarrassed or afraid to show. So they keep it deep inside. Hidden away to eat the back of their subconscious. It's why there's a saying, "We're all monsters here,"'_ the boy chuckled. _'Never have those words been truer. Look at it this way,'_ Pariah said. _'The people you eat, did they became you?'_

_'No,'_ Alex answered easily.

_'Did you become them?'_ Pariah asked.

Alex hesitated. Not exactly but they did affect him. Sometime, during small quiet moments, when Alex would note on smalls things, his thoughts would pipe up and say something that's not entirely his yet is. Especially on ads or logos and common pictures. Why was it humans have that incessant habits to remark how annoying it was, or how awful it is? It was the same with Blackwatch soldiers. He was disgusted by their joy at burning lives, yet when every time he let the Javelin sing, he couldn't help but smile at the screams of the burning pilot—screams of citizens that were denied clearance from going out the Red Zone.

_'It's exactly like that,'_ Pariah said as if knowing what was going through his head. _'A presence, an imprint within the mind, that voice that's not ours yet it is. The people you consume are immortalized through you,'_ the boy explained. _'and you should be very afraid of your own mind because of that, Zeus. There are awful things in there, things that want to come out through you. You're a ticking bomb.'_

_'Like hell I would let those voices out,'_ Alex snarled in defiant.

_'We'll see,'_ Pariah smiled at him. _'I would hate if mother got her hands on you.'_

_'Why?'_

_'Because it would reduce you into some dull monster. You're more interesting the way you are,'_ Pariah and looked at him with that unnerving eyes. Like he was some bird doing a trick for him, like some experiment.

A barest hint of a snarl was on the edge of Alex's lips. Pariah just cackled, amused at the living virus behavior.

_'You really don't like me, don't you?'_

_'Oh. You didn't notice. I wasn't particularly hiding that fact from you, you know.'_

_'I live on your sufferance,'_ Pariah's face cracked wider as his grin brightened then he sighed heavily, his face turned somber and serious. _'Since you're going to be such a stubborn fool, you wouldn't mind if I do this for you,'_ the boy said.

Alex suddenly felt like his head was grabbed and his eyes snapped open without his control. The beeping of a heart beat monitor could be heard in the background. He was back in reality.

_'PARIAH! What are you doing?!'_ He snarled when his body pushed off from his chair.

_'We're running out of time. You're not moving fast enough. Mother's closing in around you out here.'_ Images flashed. Images of the ugly bulbous red monster. Greene's pet. It was up and at it again, causing ruckus in south of Manhattan and somehow making its way towards Brooklyn._ 'She has a slight grip on your head and with you being new to this, I have to do this.'_

Alex stared in horror as he stood before his sister's body. He grabbed onto Dana's pale hand even as he fought and mentally screamed against Pariah's control on his body.

_'I lost the first time when I fought against mother. I lost even with all the experience she taught me how to control my virus and my unruly mind!'_ Pariah snarled in his mind, fighting very hard against Alex's effort to stop whatever he's doing._ 'Even with my help, it won't be enough to stop her from crushing you and getting the girl,'_ the boy's voice turned regretful. _'Remember, Zeus. I. Am. Helping. You.'_

Like a slow scene in a horror movie, Alex watched when his fingers pricked into Dana's neck and felt a tiny drop of Blacklight poured into her. He slammed Pariah off him, cutting off any more of the virus from pouring. Alex immediately, desperately commandeered his virus but he felt Pariah slamming into his mind, gripping onto his control. The infected vision switched on in his mental tussle, and he noticed with growing horror at the slow soft white glow spreading from the prick spot on Dana's neck.

_'You have no choice but to follow my lead else your virus goes out of control!'_ Pariah yelled at him.

Alex stopped his struggle and the white glow stopped its spread. He could feel Pariah in the back of his mind, holding onto some sense—his link on his virus. The white glow suddenly climbed up across Dana's neck and covered the whole head.

_'Your virus doesn't even like me,'_ Pariah hissed in frustration. _'It's hard to control them!'_

Alex mentally slammed Pariah off him. _'Show me what I have to do!'_ He snarled at the boy. He had no choice, no choice at all. And much to his intense dislike—HATE!—he had to… infect. He couldn't believe this. He's going to kill the boy after this! Fail or succeed to save Dana. That was a definite.

_'Like this,'_ Pariah showed him a series of senses and experiences. With guiding hands, he showed him what he must do with his virus.

_'This won't kill her, will it?'_ he asked, his mass tightening inside him while he felt the soft burning of his virus infecting. It was just like consuming but without the screaming satisfaction or the soothing easing of pain. No, he wouldn't, couldn't feel satisfied for doing this. Alex gritted his teeth at this.

_'I told you, we're just going to make your virus destroys mother's and also splicing some of her infected cells.'_ Pariah told him._ 'The rest that are untouched won't be forced into mutation if you do this properly. But she will still end up as a chimera after this.'_

Alex growled.

_'Not like us,'_ Pariah said this quickly. _'I say she will have ninety three percent of her original cells. Seven percent that's infected will be mutated fully or partially spliced. She will have to live with that seven percent after she wakes up.'_

But does percentages still make her Dana… and not something else.

_'She needs this Zeus. You're making her stronger. Believe in that.'_

Words are just words. Alex narrowed his eyes while his mind worked fast.

Now was not the time for any useless action. He will get angry later. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped to let this just be a nightmare. Another fucked up, twisted dream Greene was throwing at him.

He knew it wasn't.

* * *

**This plot put me in so much doubt... I hate Pariah. I hate him so much! I HATE YO, PARIAH!**

**Please review. Do you know how much this chapter killed me?! Ask coincidencless!**


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